Worth the Wait
by NobleAndAncientLineBlack
Summary: I found myself incredibly fascinated by Emmett in that moment. I had seen people feed before but it was never as captivating as it was right now. Watching him hunt was exciting and, dare I even think it, sensual. I could not tear my eyes off him and almost found myself wishing to join him. I wanted to drink animal blood? What was I thinking? OC/EMMETT
1. You are darkness

_Hi. This is my new Twilight fic which is an Emmett / OC story. I'll be updating this story regularly, mainly every two weeks on Monday. _

_I've written more than this chapter (actually I'm already at chapter 12) but this is a slow writing process and I wanted to be able to keep updating regularly. There's nothing as annoying as finding a good story that doesn't get updated for months. So I'm not doing that to you. _

_Hope you like the story. _

**Chapter 1**

I was only fourteen years old when I saw him for the first time. He had introduced himself as Lord Beckett to my father but he told me to call him Archie. It felt almost wrong to be all alone with this gorgeous man and my father would punish me severely if he ever found out. But Archie promised me he wouldn't, and I believed him.

_There was a fancy party going on and my entire family was invited. My mother had been running from one room to the other the entire afternoon. My eldest sister had just turned eighteen and my mother was hoping to find her a future husband tonight. My sister Daphne wore a beautiful flowing gown with lots of ruffles that I was very jealous of. I had to wear a simple dress and when I asked my mother why I couldn't wear something as magnificent as my sister, she told me I was too young for that, that I was merely a child. _

_Ever since my sister had developed a chest, she had been my mother's favourite. My mother longed to wed all her children to good matches so that my family could extent its power to other people. She was the shallowest woman I had ever met. And all her children were alike. My oldest brother Oliver had found a wife three years ago. She was beautiful, came from a wealthy family and that had been his only criteria. My other brother, William was sixteen and looked up to my father as if he was the greatest man on the planet. He wasn't. My father was a brute and could never find a kind word to say about anyone, not even his wife. The only person I did care about to a certain extent was my youngest brother of nine, Charles, but even then I could already see how deep my family had their hooks in him. Every day he became more and more like the other people in my family where it would eventually come to the point I could no longer call him my favourite. The only person I actually had respect for in this family, was myself._

_I wasn't all that bitter that I couldn't see the good in my family as well. I saw the way my mother tucked in Charles at night and gave him a loveable kiss on the forehead. I saw how my sister smiled every time the butcher's son gave her a compliment. I witnessed how my father took the time to teach Oliver everything he knew about banking. I saw how William always helped out the oldest woman in our town because she no longer had anyone to take care of her. But even though I saw all those things I couldn't help but feel trapped in their little superficial world, fearing I would stay there my whole life._

I had been afraid that surrounded by all these people who only cared about wealth, I would turn out like them. It had been the greatest fear to ever live in my heart but Archie had told me people could not make me into something I am not without my permission.

_The party was boring. All the men talked about was business, all the women did was gossip, all the girls cared about was which of the handsome boys in the room they would one day wed and all the boys wanted was the girls' attention. I didn't fit in any of those categories. What I wanted was to have a conversation with a smart person, a sincere one, someone who wasn't afraid to speak his mind and drop all the pretences that came with this life. I had never met such a person._

_When the people stopped talking, I looked up. They were all staring at a figure entering the room. It was a man, though he seemed to not belong here. He was too beautiful for this place. I stared at him in awe, as did all the other people. He had long shiny blond hair and his skin was as pale as snow. Even from where I stood I could tell he had piercing eyes that made it impossible to look away. Even at my age I felt this inexplicable need for him to like me. And even though every person in the room was gaping at this gorgeous man, he looked at me. _

_I almost gasped out loud when I saw the colour of his eyes. They were red, like blood. I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. Even though I kept thinking in the back of my mind that this was highly inappropriate, I couldn't not look at him. Eventually he walked further into the room and was no longer staring back at me. The way he walked was even more graceful than the most elegant woman in the room, yet there was still something about it that demanded respect. For the rest of the evening I stared at him. I stared when he spoke business with my father, I stared when some of the women were flocking around him, I stared when he kindly refused to dance with my sister and I stared when he walked outside for some fresh air._

_I thought it might have been my imagination but I thought he had given me a look before stepping outside on the balcony. A look that stated he wanted me to follow him. Women weren't allowed to be all alone with a man but I could not see the danger of it. This man looked thirty years old and like my mother had told me, I was merely a child. He could be my father and fathers do not hurt children. After deliberating for a few minutes, I decided to go with my instincts and followed him outside. When I got to the balcony, he wasn't there. How could that be? He had been here the entire time since I didn't see him enter again and yet I was standing here all alone. _

_I turned around in fright when I heard the doors to the balcony close behind me. He stood there and looked even more beautiful in the moonlight. It was as if he belonged to be in the night, a creature of the darkness I would learn later on. _

"_Have you never been taught that it is rude to stare?" He asked but he didn't seem angry about it._

_I was distracted by his voice. It sounded like music and I would have done anything, said anything to hear it again._

"_I'm sorry, Sir." I told him but I wasn't. Staring at him had given me the greatest satisfaction I had experienced so far._

"_I don't think you are."_

_How could he know such a thing? My breath stocked. I wanted to tell him that I truly was sorry but then I would be lying again and somehow he'd know that._

"_What is your name?" He asked while stepping closer._

"_Laurence." I told him shyly._

_Somehow I had known he did not care for my last name or who my family was, he just wanted a name to go with my face. I didn't care about his last name either. Lord Beckett could be anyone but this man needed a name. I needed a name to dream about him tonight and dream of him I would._

"_Laurence." He repeated while stroking my face with his hand._

_His hand was cold, like ice and somehow I didn't mind. His touch made me shiver but I did not want him to pull away his hand. It felt different than when my mother did it. Much, much better._

"_Why did you follow me out here?" He asked me while stroking the red curls around my face._

"_I wanted some air." I lied, he knew._

"_I don't like liars, Laurence." He said while gripping my hair a little too hard to remain pleasant. I let out a little shriek._

"_Why don't you tell me the real reason? I promise you I won't get mad."_

"_I was...fascinated." I admitted._

_I really was. There was something so different about this man that I couldn't help but wanting to find out. At my response, he smiled. It wasn't a warm one, rather cold but it just drew me in even more. Who was this man?_

"_By what, Laurence?"_

_He stood even closer to me now, still holding on to my hair but gentler now, pleasant. He smelled my hair it seemed and I didn't even mind. I would let this man do anything to me as long as he stayed this close to me, talking to me, rolling my name of his tongue._

"_You." I breathed out._

_The answer didn't seem elaborate enough because he let go of me and looked down on me with an expecting gaze. I could feel the blush on my cheeks when I uttered the words._

"_You seem so different, from everyone else here. Better, stronger, without pretences." I whispered but he still heard me._

"_I am different." He told me. "But so are you, Laurence. You don't fit here just as much as I don't." _

_He was right about me not belonging here but the way he said it made it sound like we had something in common. I found it hard to believe that me and the beautiful man in front of me were similar in any way._

"_Why not?" I asked him._

_Maybe he knew why I was so different from all the people who surrounded me. Maybe he could tell me why I always wanted more than the life they all seemed so content with. Maybe I had followed him because he could give me those answers._

"_You are meant for greater things than what you have now."_

_I stared at him with my big brown eyes. I hoped with whole of my heart that he was right. That there was something in the world that could give me what I wanted._

"_There are things in this world beyond your wildest imagination, Laurence. An entire world kept from you, a world you would fit in perfectly. My world."_

_I shivered when he whispered those words in my ear. The promise of belonging with this man was enough to make me give him everything he wanted. He pulled on my hair lightly so that my head would fall back a little. I let out a small groan from the pain but he paid no attention to it. He lowered his mouth to my neck and placed his lips there in a kiss that made me shiver._

"_How old are you, Laurence?" He whispered to me._

"_Fourteen." I stuttered._

_I immediately regretted telling him that for he pulled away and I was left without his embrace. Of course I was too young for this man, a man that could have any woman he would want. I felt ashamed for even thinking he would want me. I didn't dare look up at him so instead I looked at the ground. I shivered when I felt his cold hand lift up my chin after a while and I stared back in those red eyes._

"_That's the beauty about aging, you can be as old as I want you to be."_

_I didn't understand what he meant by that but I figured my age didn't matter to him that much. _

"_If you could be any age forever, what would that be?" _

"_Eighteen." I responded immediately, having my sister's recent birthday in mind and I remembered my mother saying eighteen was the most beautiful age._

"_Eighteen, what a wonderful choice. So it will be." He told me as if we had just made an agreement and to seal the deal he softly pressed his lips against mine. _

_When I opened my eyes again, he was gone. All there was left was the cold sensation on my lips and the sweet memory of him. I didn't even know his name._

When we got home from the party my father had told us how he hoped Lord Beckett would want my sister's hand in marriage. But when I went upstairs there was a note lying on my bed. It said his name was Archie and we would meet again. I felt in heaven. This beautiful man seemed to find me interesting enough to talk to me and kiss me. I touched my lips to see if they were still cold but my warmth had already spread to them. In the following days the news that Lord Beckett had disappeared had reached the ears of my family and thus mine as well. I was devastated. The beautiful man I would not meet again and I would be trapped in this world forever. Years went by and though I had not forgotten about him, I had moved on with my life.

_I would be eighteen in a few days and my mother was planning my engagement party. I had become rather beautiful if I may say so myself. My red hair had become darker and had a more beautiful shine to it now. My body was that of a woman now and my mother called it my greatest asset. I had blushed when my father told me how many young men had come to him, asking for my hand in marriage. I couldn't help but secretly still be waiting for that beautiful man I had met such a long time ago. Eventually my parents had decided for me to wed Frederick Burkham, the son of a wealthy man. Frederick was a nice man and easy on the eyes but he was normal and over the years my dislike of the ordinary had only increased. I wanted something extraordinary in my life and it looked like I would never have it._

_My mother had pulled a gown over my head, similar to the one Daphne wore all those years ago that had made me green with envy. I loved this beautiful gown as well and was glad to wear something a little more special for once. I had been twirling around in my room when my father had called me down, saying the guests were arriving. It was a small party since my father only wanted people who mattered to come. Frederick had told me how nice I looked but since he had already said the same thing to three other girls, it held no meaning to me. I would have been more pleased if he said I was ugly. At least that way I would have stood out to him and standing out was what I wanted. I wanted people to acknowledge the fact that I was different, that I was extraordinary. _

_After an hour of conversing with people I didn't like about things that didn't interest me, I had snuck outside for some fresh air and a moment to clear my head. I had been sipping a glass of wine when I heard it. I couldn't pinpoint what the sound was exactly but it had come from the large shed behind my house. The smartest and most sensible thing to do would be to quickly enter the house but like I said, I didn't like normal so I approached the shed. I opened the door to reveal an emptiness. Where was the source of the sound?_

"_Is anybody there?" I asked._

_But like expected, no answer came. I took a step inside and since nothing happened, I walked to the middle of the shed. It was rather large and there were so many dark places someone could be hiding. It was more like a barn really, one with two floors. Maybe there was someone on the second one. Climbing the stairs I couldn't help but feel there was something watching me. _

_Coming upstairs I thought I saw something moving in the far corner. Foolish as I was, I approached it. I couldn't see what was there in front of me but I still kept walking. My foot got caught in something and I fell flat on the wooden floor. I groaned, trying to get up. And when I opened my eyes after closing them to brace me for the fall, I looked straight in the eyes of Frederick's sister. Her dead eyes. I wanted to scream bloody murder but before I could, a hand pulled me to my feet and put the other one on my mouth. I was looking at the man that had been the main subject of my dreams for years now. The beautiful man with the red eyes. Archie._

"_You will be the crown jewel." He whispered to me before lowering his mouth to my neck. _

_There had been a time I craved to feel those lips and those hands again but this was nothing like my memory. It wasn't gentle, neither was it pleasant. The way he yanked my head back by my hair brought tears to my eyes. When his teeth pierced my skin, they rolled down my cheeks. This wasn't what I had wanted. He had promised me something new, something special, something wonderful. This wasn't it. There was only pain now. It had started in my neck but slowly spread to my entire body and soon there was a painful stinging over my entire body. I screamed and clawed at his back but he didn't let go. This was it. I was going to die. The beautiful man was killing me. _

_Suddenly he pulled back and my body was dropped to the floor. I couldn't get up anymore. I couldn't do anything but scream for him to make the pain stop. He didn't. He just stood there, watching me crawl on the floor in overwhelming pain. The stinging had intensified and it was now a burning that went through my entire body. I yelled at him to make it stop, soon I was begging him to kill me. It would last for three days._


	2. We are the night

**Thank you for all your lovely reviews. It's nice to see people excited about my story.**

** xxxRena: **_Thanks, if you liked my previous story, I hope you'll like this one as well :)_

** danastarry: **_I'm excited as well, to see what you'll all think of this story. But Emmett won't be making an appearance in the first few chapters. You'll have to wait just a bit longer for him to enter the story._

** Noble Beauty: **_Glad you liked the beginning. I'll hope you'll like this new chapter as well._

** cullensrule: **_Thank you, I missed frequent updating as well. I like the vampires in twilight as well and after giving you my take on the pack's world, I thought I'd give it a try writing about the other part of the Twilight world. That doesn't mean I'll never write an imprint story again of course but for now I want to write about Laurence (and Emmett in the near future)._

** Lorem tenebrae: **_Well, here you have the update! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well._

** Lyo-Lyok: **_I'm glad you find it interesting. I will definitely continue it. I hate it when writers suddenly abandon their story. You're the first one to ever tell me it should be comma's after the spoken sentence. So I looked it up (because I'm a paranoid person :) and as you probably already knew, you are 100% correct. Unfortunately for me that means some adjustments have to be made since I'm already on chapter 13 now. But better to be right than wrong so thank you for pointing that out. _

**Chapter 2**

It is strange how my life only really started when I died.

_I was dead. There was no doubt about it. The beautiful man had killed me and I had been sent to hell. I don't know what I had done during my life to deserve it, but I was clearly in hell. The pain burning through my veins, my heart, my very being surely must be a punishment from God. I thought the afterlife was good, peaceful but there was nothing peaceful about the way I was writhing in pain right now. I thought my throat would eventually dry up but it had been so long now and I was still screaming at the top off my lungs. How long had I been dead now? A week? A month? A year? Was my family weeping for me right now or was I already long forgotten? The weirdest part about being dead is that I still have a heartbeat. It is completely submerged in the all consuming fire but a heartbeat nonetheless. These past few minutes, maybe hours, maybe days my heart has started beating faster than ever before. It was as if it was nearing the finish line and pushing itself to its limits. And suddenly it stopped. My heartbeat was gone, but so was the pain._

_With the pain gone, I could sense other things again. I felt how my limbs were aching to move, I smelled nature all around me and I could hear footsteps nearby. I snapped my eyes open to see a bright sky. I quickly got on my feet, amazed by how fast I was. Before I could make another sudden movement, the beautiful man was in my line of vision. I couldn't suppress the hiss that I let out. Hiss? Isn't that something a feline would do? Why would I feel the need to hiss?_

"_No need to be aggressive, little one," The beautiful man grinned._

_His voice sounded weird. The same as I remembered it but still different, less captivating. I wanted to ask him what had happened. I thought I was dead. Then why was I still very much alive? But I got distracted by my surroundings. Everything was so sharp, so clear. I had never seen anything like this. What was this place he had brought me to? The colours were magnificent and I could see for miles away. There was also so much noise. I could clearly hear a river but there wasn't one nearby._

"_Distracting, isn't it?"_

_My eyes focused back on the man. Why was he smiling? There was absolutely nothing funny about this. I hissed at him again and almost instinctively I crouched, ready to leap at him. What was going on?_

"_Do you want to pick a fight or do you want me to explain things to you?" He asked me very calmly._

_I straightened back up and waited for him to start talking._

"_I am a vampire."_

_I stared at him blankly. A vampire? I didn't even know if I believed in such a thing, let along believe that the beautiful man was one of them. He didn't look like an abomination to me._

"_A vampire?"_

"_Yes, an immortal who feeds on human blood."_

_My blood. He had fed on my blood. I remembered the pain of something sharp piercing my skin. Please tell me those weren't fangs. I brought my arm up to my neck to see if I could feel where his teeth had been but there was nothing. He laughed. He found amusement in my confusion. I felt myself getting angry at him, really angry. And then I pounced. I couldn't lay a hand on him though, he moved faster than I was prepared for and pushed me down by the neck._

"_Be a good little newborn, Laurence or this will end badly for you," He hissed._

_I nodded. I would behave, as long as he said and did nothing to make me angry again._

"_Since I am a vampire and I bit you, you are one too."_

"_I'm a vampire?"_

_His story was just too strange to believe, yet there was obviously something odd going on with him and somehow also with me. I had never been that fast or aggressive before. I also never had such a sore throat before, it was burning but I figured it must have been caused by all the screaming._

"_Yes, but don't believe all the stories or myths you've heard about us. You will come to learn that not that many of them are true."_

_I really was a vampire?_

"_Prove it," I whispered barely but somehow he had heard it._

_He nodded. He was going to convince me that he was telling the truth. But then suddenly he was gone. He had stood there one second ago and then he was gone. I had seen a blur run though the woods we were in but how could he have moved so fast? And was I supposed to wait here for him or had he just abandoned me? I didn't have much choice. I didn't know where I was and I had no idea how to get home. My patience was rewarded when he came back a few minutes later. But he wasn't alone._

_I had felt their presence before I saw them. I had heard Archie running towards me but it was my throat that alarmed them approaching. It burned like crazy as if its cure was getting closer. I tried rubbing my throat to relieve the pain but to no avail. It just got worse when I saw Archie entering the meadow again. He had two people with him, they were unconscious but I knew they were still alive because I could hear their heartbeats. I could hear it! I'm sure I couldn't do that before. The scent coming from these people hit my nose and it made my throat clench. Whatever was the cause of this pain, I knew the source of that scent could make it go away._

"_Have a taste."_

_A taste? As in... He wanted me to feed of these people? I was about to tell him I couldn't do that when their scent hit me square in the face. It just smelled so good. Too good to resist. It was like I had flipped a switch and I relied completely on my instincts. I was immediately by the young man's side and sank my teeth in his neck as if it was a second nature. I guess it was. The fluid that filled my mouth was divine, I had never tasted anything as amazing as this. I craved more of it. I kept drinking his blood until there was nothing left of it. But it wasn't enough. I needed more. I quickly sank my teeth in the other man's neck as well and drained him completely. I dropped his body when there was no more blood for me to drink and I turned back towards Archie._

"_Do you believe me now?"_

"_More," I growled._

"_Oh, there's a lot more where that came from," He smiled before beckoning me to follow him._

Archie told me everything he knew about our kind. I was stronger and faster than you could ever imagine. I could hear, see and smell everything so much better. But as a vampire your feelings are always more intense than when you were human. Those first years I got enraged for things that would have barely ticked me off as a human. The first year is a blur. I don't remember a lot of it, all I remember is that I lived to feed. I would have drained one human, and I was already searching for another one. I tried keeping count but it was too much.

In a way I had gotten my wish. I was special, different, extraordinary and most of all: lethal. But now that I was one of his kind, Archie suddenly looked less special to me, more ordinary. And since his lure to me had mainly been him being a vampire, I found myself no longer attracted to him. He said that those things happen. He had not created me as a romantic companion so he didn't mind. He was however the perfect partner in crime. Hunting would have been a lot less fun without him by my side. He also put up with all my newborn tendencies, especially the mood swings. I was a very emotional vampire, which is strange since I had been a very stoic human.

I had often wondered what the reason was Archie had changed me into a vampire but he would never tell me. He said I wasn't ready for it. I didn't understand what he meant with that until my newborn period was over and I noticed other things besides my lust for blood.

_My newborn tendencies had diminished and the lust seemed to be less overruling. It was still there of course. Archie had told me it would always be there but it's something you get used to. He had brought me into civilisation again after all the time we spend in cottages far away from the world. He had brought me to a beautiful house that he had rented for the next two months. He told me we couldn't stay at one place for too long, it would raise suspicion. Archie had left as soon as the sun had gone down. He didn't trust me enough to not lose control if I was surrounded by humans but as long as I would stay in the house, he would bring me back a snack._

_I had been disappointed that my super newborn strength was gone but Archie said I could be better now. He said he'd teach me how to work my mind to its full capacity. That was something that sounded very appealing to me. My mind could do several things at once. I could smell my next prey, have a conversation with Archie, not run into any trees and listen to the noises of the nearby town without being distracted. It was amazing._

_Another thing about being with Archie was that he gave me everything I wanted. If I wanted to hunt, we would. If I wanted to scream at him, he let me. And now that I wanted to go back to civilisation, he had given me this house and beautiful dresses to go with it. The jealousy I had felt during my human life for all the beautiful dresses my mother would let my sister wear, had somehow established itself in my vampire life. I refused to wear anything that wasn't a beautiful, flowing and expensive dress. Of course Archie gave me exactly that._

_As usual I could smell Archie bringing me something to eat before he entered the room I was in. He dragged with him a young woman who couldn't be any older than twenty. She wore ragged clothes and it was clear to me that he had picked a beggar of the street. _

"_Hungry?" He grinned._

_I had come to find that Archie was a ruthless killer and the best part? So was I. I wanted to drain the human completely until I noticed something strange. There was a certain glow around her that stopped me from snapping her neck. I tilted my head to the side a little, curious as to why there was something strange about her._

"_If you don't want to take her, I will." _

"_Wait," I called to Archie when he had put his teeth on her neck._

"_What?" He growled. He doesn't like to be interrupted during dinner._

"_Don't you see that? That glow?" I whispered._

_Archie came by my side immediately, grabbed my face and stared me in the eye._

"_What do you see?" He demanded._

"_There's this glow around her," I whispered, confused._

"_What does it mean?!"_

_I didn't know what it meant but the strange thing is, now that I was looking at Archie as well, there was a glow too._

"_You have it too," I breathed out._

_What was going on? The woman had crawled to the corner the furthest away from me but I kept staring at her, trying to figure out what it meant._

"_What's wrong with your knee?" I asked her._

_Her eyes got even bigger when she realised I was talking to her. She tried to make herself smaller in the hopes that I would just ignore her again but I took a step closer to her._

"_The knee!" I growled._

"_I-I broke it when I was l-little," She stuttered. "It still h-hurts to r-run."_

_Archie suddenly turned me around._

"_What do you see with me?" He asked, no, demanded._

"_Greed," I whispered, not even realising what I was saying._

_Archie however seemed to understand what was going on. He smiled that vicious smile that used to make my human heart skip a beat. _

"_Feed, and I'll explain."_

_I don't think I've ever drained a human so quickly._

Archie finally told me the reason he had changed me. He told me that some vampires have special abilities like mindreading and inflicting pain. It's different for every vampire but not everyone has it. He apparently didn't have one but he liked creating vampires that did. He told me that he had changed me in the hopes that I would have a special ability as well. When I told him I didn't, he disagreed. He told me that every ability works in its own way and that the glow I had seen was the way it worked for me. He was right. Every time he brought me something to eat, they would have that glow, Archie had it as well. He also told me he suspected that my gift was to see the weakness in other people. The girl's weakness had been her knee and Archie's was greed. He found it fascinating it could be a physical weakness as well as a trait of character. He soon found it necessary to test my limits.

"_I still don't see what is the point of all of this," I whined._

"_Just do it!" He growled, losing his patience._

_Archie wanted me to attack him. I don't know why since we both know he'll win. I have had absolutely no fighting training and Archie had been a warrior during his human life, something that came in quite handy as a vampire. I had only attacked Archie once and that had been after my transformation. I wouldn't even call it a fight since he had pinned me so easily to the ground. _

_I sighed and charged at him anyway. I wouldn't go too fast, then at least it wouldn't hurt that badly when he rammed me again. But then something weird happened. He took a swing at me and somehow I had known how to turn to avoid it. He seemed surprised to find me standing beside him but before he could turn around again, I had grabbed his arm and pulled it up behind him. He told me he surrendered._

_I had won? I had won! I was ecstatic. Somehow I had fought with a vampire five hundred years older than me and I beat him. I tried not to rub it in his face too much, but I did so anyway. _

"_Haha, I'm not even four years old and I beat you!" I laughed._

"_It had nothing to do with age, Laurence," He grinned._

_Why did he seem happy about my victory? I wanted him to get angry over it and then I could rub this in his face for all the years to come. _

"_Why are you smiling?" I asked, not enjoying my victory as much as I would have._

"_Why did you turn on my right side?"_

"_I don't know," I shrugged. "It seemed like the best way to go."_

"_I think you can use your gift in battle."_

_Huh?_

"_You went that way because your instincts were telling you that was my weak side in combat," He grinned._

My gift turned out to be the best one Archie had seen so far. I couldn't just see people's emotional and physical weaknesses but I could also see what the weakness was in their fighting skills. Soon I figured out it doesn't always work in the negative way. I could also see people's positive sides. I have an amazing and very useful gift if I may say so myself. But I had never met another gifted vampire, I hadn't met any other vampire. And I was starting to wonder if maybe me and Archie were the only ones. I had been with Archie for almost twelve years when I met another vampire for the first time.

_I was looking for something to eat but Archie had managed to find the emptiest town in whole of France. People didn't roam the streets anymore as soon as it got dark and I could hardly hunt during the day since my skin sparkles in the sunlight. I was in dire need to feed and unlike Archie I couldn't just pick up a prostitute in a brothel. I was hungry and it was playing with my mood._

_Finally I found someone worth devouring. I had already crossed two homeless children but I refuse to feed off anyone who can't pass as an eighteen year old. The man sitting in the middle of the street was obviously drunk, his smell wasn't pleasant either but in desperate times like these I had to take everything I could get._

"_Hi there, pretty." He snickered._

_I didn't bother answering him, I just slashed open his artery and fed off his blood. Archie liked to play games with his victims. He liked to make them think they could trust him, that they were just having a civilised conversation and then took them completely by surprise when he ended their lives. I wasn't a big fan of the games. I preferred just killing and feeding, quickly getting it over with._

_When I had completely drained the body and threw it in the river, I felt a presence nearby. I would have smelled any human too soon for him to get close to me so it could only be one thing. A sweet scent typical for vampires filled my nose and it wasn't Archie's. Whoever the vampire was, it had noticed me. I turned around quickly but I could already see a vampire disappearing in the shadows. It had been a man with long pale blond hair. An attractive man for all I could see but Archie told me all vampires are beautiful. I found myself smiling when I realised this vampire had no idea who he was up against. I didn't know if he was a friend or foe but I intended to have fun with this. I might not like to play games with my food but that doesn't mean I don't like to play games at all._

_I started to run. I darted through the empty streets of the town at vampire speed. No one would see me. No one but the other vampire. Without looking back I knew he was following me due to my enhanced senses. I wore a smile on my face, enjoying the little game of cat and mouse. No matter who this vampire was, I had faith that he wouldn't be able to harm me thanks to my gift. _

_Suddenly I knew, just like I always seem to just know, that he would be having more difficulty keeping up with me and catching me if I took a left turn. And so I did. We continued for a while like this, me always just darting out of his reach. He was fast, faster than Archie and possibly faster than me. Whoever this vampire was, he deserved my respect. _

_I had just taken another turn when my gift failed me, well not completely. I could still see a loop hole in his attack but I wasn't quick enough. Before I could dart away again, the vampire had taken my left arm in an iron grip and spun me around. The vampire tried to get his second arm around my body as well but failed since I knew exactly how to turn to get out of his reach. Unfortunately he was still holding on to my arm with a grip I couldn't see a weakness in. For the first time in my vampire life I feared that maybe I wasn't as invincible as I thought I was. The blond man grinned at me and definitely had something menacing about him. But before he could do whatever it was he wanted, a smell hit both of our noses. A smell I knew very well. Archie. He stood in the alley we were in before I could try to get out of the vampire's grip, which had weakened enough by Archie's scent to make me see a loop hole. The blond man however didn't seem to care anymore that I was getting away, instead he stared at my creator. _

"_James," Archie smiled._

"_Archibald," The blond vampire grinned._

_Archibald? Really? I always found Archie sounded too silly to fit him but Archibald just sounded too weird to me._

"_I see you've met my new pupil," Archie grinned as well now._

_The blond vampire whose name was apparently James scanned me over and grinned._

"_Yes, she's very... evasive."_

_I didn't know if that was a compliment or not but it certainly made Archie laugh out loud. Then again sometimes Archie finds things amusing that aren't funny to me in the slightest._

"_Laurence, this is James. A vampire I changed in 1805."_

_Archie kept record of every single vampire he had created though he never spoke to me about them. This vampire had been created 82 years before me. It still seemed like such a long time for me but when you live forever, eventually all time blends together._

"_Tried to find a gifted one again?" James quirked._

"_Oh, she certainly is gifted," My creator smiled._

_Why were they talking about me as if I wasn't even in the same place? I looked the vampire up and down. He wasn't as attractive as I thought he would be. He would still be extremely handsome in the eyes of a human but to my vampire eyes his looks didn't even come close to matching Archie's, or mine._

"_She can see the weaknesses and the strengths in people. Humans and vampires alike."_

_I don't know how he could be so convinced of it since he had been the only vampire I had ever tried my gift on. I had learned to turn it on and off since it could be quite troublesome in crowded places._

"_Really? What are they for me then?" James asked._

_I took one glance at him and knew exactly what it was. I played in my mind with the idea of telling him I couldn't find a strength but even though he didn't seem hostile towards me anymore, I didn't think he would appreciate it._

"_You're a tracker. That's your strength," I told him._

_He seemed pleased by my answer. His tracking abilities must be something he's proud of. I myself am not very skilled in that department. Archie told me those things come with time, unless of course you are a natural as James is._

"_Your weakness however is your games. The hunting down no matter what. Might be fatal one day," I grinned slightly._

_I was by no means a fortune teller but a weakness is usually what causes your downfall. I wish I knew what mine was but unfortunately my gift doesn't work on myself. The smug look on his face didn't disappear at all. In fact he seemed to like the fact that was the weakness I found in him. I could see Archie grinning at the two of us. _

"_Tell me, James, do you travel alone or with someone?"_

_The tone Archie used made it clear the real question was whether or not this James had a mate. Archie had told me about vampires finding their mate. It isn't like love at first sight but you do feel an attraction. Once you get to know the person, fall in love or whatever and declare that person as your mate, there is no going back. Vampires mate for life. It did not sound like something I would want. It also didn't sound like something that would interest this vampire so his answer surprised me._

"_Yes, Victoria."_

"_Is she gifted?"_

_Of course that's what Archie would want to know. He measured the value of a vampire through their gift. He said I was his most prized vampire. As if I belonged to him._

"_Yes, she can escape anything. Her gift resembles yours a bit," He looked at me. "She can find a safe spot anywhere."_

_I couldn't help but notice how well it complimented his weakness. He could get himself in a lot of trouble with his dangerous games and she could always get them out of it._

"_I would love to meet her," Archie smiled._

_Of course he would. Archie was simply fascinated with every possible gift and wouldn't pass up on the opportunity of meeting another vampire with one. James told him he would introduce them. I kindly declined when they asked me if I wanted to join. I wasn't completely satisfied with my kill tonight. I wanted more._

My first meeting with another vampire hadn't been very pleasant. There had just been something about his attitude that I didn't like. When he left again Archie told me I should be wary of James because he doesn't track humans since they're too easy. He tracks down vampires and he kills them. Killing a vampire merely for the sake of killing. Even for the undead that sounded cruel.


	3. They are power

**Wow, this story seems to be getting some great reactions so thank you all for your lovely reviews.**

**imperfections676: **_Thanks, I do like getting reviews. The more the merrier. _

**Lorem tenebrae: **_I'm glad you find Laurence realistic. That's the goal. Hope you'll like this chapter._

**EmmetCullen'sWifey: **_Yep, going on. Hopefully this chapter answers to your expectations._

**The Red Crayon: **_Woohoo, I'm so happy you find my characters realistic. I hate it as well when vampires suddenly have these strange gifts. I put a lot of thought in Laurence's so I'm really glad you don't find it too farfetched. I like Archie too even though he's a pretty bad vampire. _

**danastarry: **_Yep, I hate that too when a chapter doesn't even count 500 words. That's why I've decided for myself that every chapter should be around 3,000 words. Glad you love this story and my ruthless character. :)_

**xxxRena: **_I'm happy to see you like her gift, I put a lot of thought into it because I didn't want it to be a lame or overused one. I want you all to get to know Laurence's history and character before she meets the Cullens. _

**cullensrule: **_Yes, he is. And it actually takes a lot for Laurence to find someone cruel._

**Lyo-Lyok: **_Wow, such a long review. Made me very happy :) And your question is a really clever one. Honestly I changed between Laurence's nationality a lot of times. In the end I decided that she's from a French family (her name makes more sense that way) who moved to England. Yes, there are other nationalities but somehow English and French are the most popular ones. Kind of goes with the image we have of vampires. Archie is English. And when new characters appear it will either be clear of told. If not, you can always ask. _

_Thank you as well for taking the time to correct my story. I had no idea I still make so many mistakes (though I know I switch a lot between tenses and should really pay more attention to that :s)_

**Noble Beauty : **_I'm really glad you like the story. Unfortunately Emmett won't be making an appearance in this chapter or the next one. But he will show up, obviously since this is an Emmett / OC story ;)_

**Chapter 3**

Archie told me he always stayed with the vampires he created the first years, to make sure they got the training they needed to survive on their own. He never stayed with a vampire for longer than ten years. I stayed by his side for twenty three. Maybe we would have stayed together even longer if he didn't make one fatal mistake.

_Archie had gone hunting further away than I was willing to go so I had once again fed alone. But that was hours ago and the sun would come up in an hour. I was actually starting to worry. Without Archie I always felt like a scared newborn. I went out looking for him but never got very far. I had only been following his trail for ten minutes when I sensed the presence of another vampire. I had met other vampires but found out that not all of them have good intentions. I could have easily avoided the vampire since I knew where the weakness was in his fighting skills but he wasn't alone. I could sense two more vampires. I started to panic. I had never went up against more than one vampire, I hadn't even gotten up against a vampire who meant me harm. Before I could make out an escape plan in my head a vampire stood in front of me. He was the largest vampire I had ever come across and even though I knew that might not mean much, it still seemed extraordinary to me. He had short, dark hair and the way he stood made it clear to me he was a born fighter._

"_You must be Laurence," He grinned._

_I wanted to get away but with the two other vampires that was impossible. The others were both male as well. One of them was also very large. He had long black hair and dark red eyes like every vampire. Thanks to my gift I knew that he as well was a fighter. The third man was shorter and not as muscled but he had another talent. He was a tracker, just like James but I could tell that this one was better. I knew he was the reason they were here. For some reason he had found it necessary to track me down. I just hope he doesn't have the same hobby as James does. I hissed at the vampire in front of me._

"_If you'd like your limbs to stay attached, you might want to follow us," The first one said before taking off._

_The second bulky vampire practically dragged me with him in an iron grip I did not have the strength to get out of. We travelled for quite some time and the sun was actually starting to rise when we entered a city. They all knew very well the back alleys so that we wouldn't be seen and I, still held by the vampire, was forced to follow them. At a certain point we came to an underground tunnel that lead to an open hallway. _

_During the time I was forced to follow them, I had the opportunity to study their movements and their weaknesses. The first vampire who lead the way was very strong, even for a vampire but he was arrogant and that is what would make him slip up. The second vampire, who was holding me, was a fighter but he too had a weakness. He had a blind spot in his movements. Whenever the vampire behind him would move into that spot, he seemed a little more tense, as if he knew there was something he couldn't see. I could work with that. The third vampire was a tracker but didn't have a lot of strength. It seems quite futile to me if you can track any of your enemies but you can't get rid of them._

_We passed a magnificent entrance that made me wonder if maybe we were at some sort of castle. I wasn't given the time to look around much because we entered another room. The scent had hit me before we entered it but I knew that in that room, there were at least eight more vampires. One scent was familiar to me. Archie's. The vampire dragged me to the middle of the large room and I stood next to Archie, who for the very first time since we've met looked a little frightened to me. We were facing three thrones, two of them were occupied. On the left sat a blond vampire with such an angry expression on his face, it almost made me flinch. His skin was a white I had never seen on a vampire before. His strength was his strategic mind, his weakness the fact that anger sometimes clogs his vision. On the right sat a tall man with long black hair and a bored expression on his face. Bored? I could see his strength was his gift. He had the ability to recognise the relations between people. I knew it was a special gift but I didn't realise the utility of it. All he could see was how much someone cared about someone else. His weakness was his heart. Even though it couldn't beat anymore, it appeared broken to me. It made me wonder what had happened to him. The throne in the middle was empty, probably because it's occupant was standing right in front of us._

"_Wonderful! You have found her. Welcome to Volterra, Laurence," The vampire smiled but it seemed as if he was putting on an act._

_The third vampire was the most important one. He had the ability to read my mind if he touched me. That was clearly his strength. His weakness however was the same as Archie's: greed. I felt incredibly uncomfortable around these people because I didn't need my gift to know they were powerful._

"_My name is Aro Volturi," He smiled and reached out his hand for me to shake._

_I knew very well he would see every thought I ever had if I reached out. So instead I stayed the way I was, eyeing up his posture._

"_I'd rather not," I spoke._

_He seemed like a man who was not used to rejection and the fact that the entire room seemed insulted by my refusal made me think he was their leader of some sort. He didn't seem insulted however, he just started laughing._

"_You were right," He laughed while looking at Archie._

_Right about what? Archie refused to meet my eye as if he had done something bad._

"_Jane, dear," The vampire named Aro waved over one of the many vampires in this room._

_As soon as she got in my line of vision, I hissed violently at her. All she had to do was look at me and I would endure a pain I've never known. She seemed angered by my hiss at her. Her weakness was the same as the blond one sitting on the throne._

"_Tell me, Laurence. Won't you shake my hand?" He smiled._

_It was a clear threat. If I didn't let him touch me and read my mind, this Jane would use her gift on me. I felt no need to writhe on the floor with pain that was even worse than the one during my transformation so I cautiously took a step in Aro's direction. He eagerly took my hand and closed his eyes. I wondered what he saw._

"_It truly is a wonderful gift you have. It appears Caius' weakness is his anger," He laughed and it seemed to anger the blond vampire sitting on the throne, whose name was apparently Caius._

"_Don't pay too much attention to him. I need you to focus on something else for me," Aro told me while turning me around to face all the other vampires in the room. _

_There were nine others in the room, including the three who had brought me here._

"_That's Felix, Santiago and Demetri," Aro pointed them out to me. "Won't you tell me what I want to know?" He asked me._

_I knew what he wanted me to do and even if I didn't want to tell him, he could read it through my mind anyway. _

"_Chelsea," He pointed out a short female vampire in the room._

_I couldn't help but think her strength was her amazing ability to make and break relationships between people, that is quite a gift. Aro seemed to agree with me because he nodded his head. Her weakness however was her fighting skills, she had almost none. That made Aro snicker. It was weird having him read every thought I had. _

"_Alec," He turned me towards a boy with dark hair who could not be older than thirteen thought I believed he was many centuries older than me._

_He had the ability to completely cut off the senses of anyone he wanted, an amazing gift as well. What frightened me the most was that I couldn't find a direct weakness in this boy. I had to look at him for quite some time until I realised it was his reliance on the Volturi, without them he would be nothing. He would still have his gift of course but that would be about it. Survival instincts were never necessary in the Volturi so he didn't develop them._

"_Heidi," Aro pointed to the most beautiful vampire I had ever seen._

_She had long mahogany hair and a beautiful figure. I knew this was also her strength. She could lure people in like no one else. Her weakness was, how could it be any different with her kind of gift, vanity. That seemed to amuse Aro who was still holding my hand._

"_Afton." _

_His strength was his determination. That seemed to surprise Aro but he didn't say anything about it. His weakness was his undeniable faith in himself and his coven, thinking they were invincible. That was a strange weakness and Aro agreed for he nodded. Why would my gift point that out as his weakness? Aro didn't seem to find it important enough to pay attention to any longer and pointed out a woman with straight black hair._

"_Corin."_

_Her gift and thus her strength was giving off a contentment or ease to people who would then have no objection to whatever situation they are in. Strangely it was also her weakness since it has a drug like effect and people need to be near her. She can't stand being crowded which is very unfortunate with such a gift._

"_Renata," He turned me towards the last vampire in the room._

_She had black hair and she was what I believe would be called a shield. She was able to repel everyone who came too close and make them go in another direction. I was starting to see a certain pattern here. Almost all of these vampires had extremely useful abilities. Was Aro creating an army? He looked at me impatiently as if he was waiting for something. Oh, right, her weakness. She worries too much and the stress, if vampires can even have that, blocks her vision._

"_Very useful indeed," He smiles when he finally lets go of my hand. "It makes me rather glad Archie hunted in our city."_

_It didn't make sense to me. Our city? Since when can vampires own a city? They always travel around and I didn't know covens could count so many members._

"_Do you know who we are, Laurence?" Aro asked me when he sat down in his throne. _

_Didn't he know already that I didn't know them? After all, he had read my mind._

"_We are the Volturi, vampire royalty."_

_I wasn't aware we had royalty. _

"_We make the rules that vampires have to follow."_

_Rules? How come Archie had never told me about any of this?_

"_And one very important rule is that it is forbidden for any vampire to hunt in our city, Volterra."_

_Is that where we were? I hadn't really been given the opportunity to admire the city since the three vampires had dragged me here._

"_And Archie broke that rule. Now normally we would of course take his life as a punishment but he promised something of great value to us if we spared him."_

_What could Archie possibly have that would interest the vampire royalty? It seemed that they already had everything they could wish for._

"_You. A gifted vampire like yourself is always welcome here," Aro smiled._

_Archie had promised them me?! He had sold me off like some common whore! I was not something that could be traded around. Archie does not own me! I hissed and snarled at Archie and he did seem to feel slightly guilty over it._

"_Now, he is no longer worth your time. What do you say? Will you join us and spare your creator's life?" Aro asked me while opening his arms to me as if he were trying to embrace me._

_I did not want to join them, especially if Archie wanted me to in order to save his life. They could kill him for all I care right now. But before I could tell them any of this I suddenly felt this need to agree. I did want to belong with them. They were power and extraordinary, everything I had sought for in my human life. They were the best of the vampire world and I deserved to be surrounded by the best._

"_Yes," I told him_

"_Marvellous," Aro clapped his hands together. "You can leave," He told Archie who bolted out of the room faster than I had ever seen him run._

"_Welcome to the Volturi, Laurence," He smiled._

They weren't as scary as they had appeared to me the first time I met them. Some of them were quite nice like Santiago and Corin, others were less pleasant like Caius and Jane but it appeared that not many liked their company. Aro had wanted another demonstration of my gift but this time in battle. I was rather good at finding their weak spots in their defence but I was not a trained fighter and found it hard to give them a proper hit. Aro decided that Felix and Santiago would teach me how to fight and I would become a very valuable member of the guard. My gift also allowed me to tell them what they still needed to train on.

Aro had found something strange about my gift. He had assumed, just like I had, that the strength of a vampire would always be their gift, if they had one but when I looked at Afton I saw determination as his strength even though he has a gift. He could make himself unnoticed by others but Aro told me it wasn't a very useful gift thus the reason I didn't see it as his strength.

_I had been hungry for a while and my eyes had turned completely black. I was used to being able to hunt whenever I pleased but Aro had told me it was forbidden to hunt in Volterra and I wasn't allowed to leave yet. How was I supposed to feed?_

_Alec had come to my room to tell me we were all called to the Throne Room. Yes, I have a bedroom. I don't particularly need it but it is nice to have my own place and some privacy in this castle. I followed Alec to the throne room to see that everyone was there but Heidi._

"_You appear to be famished, my dear," Aro called me to his side._

"_You told me not to hunt in Volterra." _

"_And that remains true. We hunt outside of Volterra and our lovely Heidi is the bait."_

_Huh? I didn't understand what he meant with that until I smelled humans, lots of them. I could hear them talking as they moved through the halls of the castle._

"_Heidi uses her powers to get us dinner," Aro explained to me._

_Soon the doors to the throne room were opened and Heidi walked in with a large group of humans. I was so hungry I found it hard to restrain myself from pouncing the nearest human and draining him from every last drop of blood. But all the others weren't moving so I did the same. The doors were closed once the last human entered. _

"_Welcome to Volturi Castle," Aro smiled once again with his arms stretched out and he reminded me of the time he said the same thing to me. "Enjoy."_

_That seemed to be the cue to attack the humans. I joined in. I grabbed the first human within my reach, a woman in her late forties and quickly drank from her. Soon there was no blood left in her arteries and I went for another one. I drank three humans until unfortunately they were all out. Pity, because I could have drained another one but for now I was satisfied._

Living with the Volturi was better than living with Archie. Had I know this sooner, I would have looked them up myself. Just like before I got everything I wanted. When I was hungry, the throne room would be filled with humans, enough for all of us to feed on. When I wanted a new dress, which I wanted quite often, Heidi would take me out shopping and the Volturi had enough money to provide expensive dresses - I had a very expensive taste - for the entire population of the world. The only thing I didn't like about living with the Volturi, was being trapped in this castle. Aro told me that after a while I would be allowed to go out on missions for my masters. I did not like calling them that so in my head I referred to them simply as Aro, Caius and Marcus. But I already saw now that the other members of the guard rarely got missions since nobody dared to get the Volturi's anger thrown upon them. They, or we rather, were quite ruthless.

I felt rather content in this life style but I knew Corin had not used her powers on me. She didn't have to, I was already bound to them by Chelsea's powers. At least that's what I suspected but I was fine with that. It's not like I had anywhere else to go now that Archie was gone and at least here my ability was admired for what it was. Corin also had her hands full with the wives. Athenodora and Sulpicia were Caius' and Aro's mates. I found it strange that vampires like them would even desire a mate but Marcus once told me that it chooses you and not the other way around. Aro and Caius did realise having mates was sort of a weakness and they protected them dearly. They were barely allowed to leave their chambers but thanks to Corin's gift they were content with that.

The Volturi were different from the other vampires, extraordinary and better. This felt like what I had been looking for all along.


	4. I am trapped

**Thanks for all the reviews I've gotten so far :)**

** The Red Crayon : **_I'm glad you liked the description of the characters' strength and weakness. Still no Emmett though..._

** Lorem tenebrae : **_Thanks for pointing out the mistake once again. I made the adaptations so hopefully I won't make that mistake again. And well, I can't tell you yet how and when she's going to meet Emmett. Just a little more patience._

** xxxRena : **_Woohoo, I'm so glad you love this story. This chapter means we're one step closer to meeting the Cullens :)_

** Lady of Sign : **_Another update! Hope you like this chapter and I hope this answers what you've been wondering about._

** Noble Beauty : **_Nope, still no Emmett. Sorry. But there are some other new characters who make an appearance here. Glad you like it so far and I hope you'll like this chapter as well. _

** kate x wolfe : **_I'm glad you like my writing style. I get that Laurence can be a difficult name and seem like a boy's name, especially when it's not familiar in your culture. I'm not going to give her a nickname because she doesn't seem like someone who would appreciate being given a nickname. So, sorry I picked a hard name but it was the only one who seemed to fit with this character and once I named her that in my head, I couldn't change it anymore. _

**Chapter 4**

I liked Caius the least of all of my 'masters'. He didn't praise me like Aro did, neither did he have conversations with me like Marcus did. Aro admired my gift but he didn't admire me and that started to bother me after a few decades with the Volturi. I preferred Marcus' company over that of the other two. He might not be very talk active and he did always seem bored and depressed but sometimes, on a good day, he made a very good conversational partner.

_Now that I had all the time in the world and the largest library to ever lay my eyes on at my disposition, I liked spending my time in the Volturi Library, learning about the centuries I had not experienced for myself. The library was my sanctuary and it was also Marcus', thus the reason we sometimes ran into each other. And since he had lived during all those centuries I admired, I found myself often bothering him with questions about them but most of the time he didn't seem to mind too much._

"_Master Marcus, may I ask you something?"_

_I had been sitting at the window when the much older vampire had glided in. Yes, glided. It was very impressive to see either of my masters move. They had such grace about them that I will never achieve myself, even if I live for twelve centuries more. He sat down and made a hand gesture that inclined I was allowed to ask him my question._

"_What was the Roman empire like?"_

_I had been reading about it but why just read if I could hear about it from someone who had lived during it? Though lived might not be the appropriate term to use for the vampire in front of me. It sounded like an era I would have adored myself with the toga's and the gladiators. Too bad I was only born in 1869._

"_It had its benefits," He said in his monotone voice._

"_Like what? If I may ask," I quickly added the last part. It takes a lot to get Marcus angry but whenever I wasn't the politest I could be around Caius, he unleashed his torn on me. I thought to myself it was for the best if I made a habit out of it. _

"_The slaves were very utile to have around." _

_I don't see why he would pick that out as the first example. He still has slaves though I'm sure Valentina, the human who worked for them, wouldn't appreciate me referring to her in that way. _

"_What about the gladiators?" I asked eagerly._

"_The games were difficult to bear. So much blood."_

_Oh, I hadn't thought about that. It's not that hard to control your thirst when you're as old as Marcus but that still doesn't mean you should voluntarily sit in an arena where the main purpose is to spill as much blood as possible. _

_Before I could ask him anything else, Aro entered the room. He smiled at me before turning to his brother-in-law. _

"_Demetri has found the lawbreaker, they are bringing him in now," He announced to his brother before turning to leave again with Marcus in tow. "You come as well, Laurence. You will witness us upholding the law."_

_I followed Aro and Marcus to the throne room where Caius already sat at his place. The only other vampires there were Renata and Jane. I stood next to Renata and watched the doors open after a while. Demetri came in with Felix behind him, dragging an unknown vampire in. He was forced on his knees in front of Aro._

"_You have been found guilty of exposing our kind to a human," Aro said in the cruellest tone I had ever heard from him._

_The vampire looked bewildered around him. By the looks of his bright red eyes, I'd say he hasn't been a vampire for long. He also didn't seem to understand what was about to happen to him and who Aro was. _

"_Do you have anything left to say?"_

_The vampire didn't respond. It wasn't that hard to tell he was frightened. Before he could have said anything, Felix ripped him to pieces. I tried not to gasp at the sight. I had never seen a vampire die before. I knew fire affected us, if you were just dismembered you could always put yourself back together. Very strange if you ask me. Felix took a torch and lit the vampire on fire. I couldn't help but wonder if he still felt the flames._

The first time I saw the Volturi execute a vampire, it had left a terribly memory. But all things fade with time and after a while I found myself no longer caring during an execution, whether it was justified or not. I did however like the power it brought with it. The Volturi had power. The Volturi were power and by living in their coven I was powerful as well, and loving it.

The rules must always be upheld, no matter what. I had taken over their philosophy and no longer sympathised with any lawbreakers. I even found joy in executing some myself thought that privilege was usually for Felix, the strongest one in the guard. Even though Aro had made sure I was trained for battle, I never actually got into a battle. Aro used my gift for other purposes. Whenever a new vampire would enter this castle and be greeted by the masters, I was there. I stood close to Aro so he could hold my hand the minute the new vampire came in and Aro would know exactly what to expect.

A lot of vampires came to see the Volturi but each and every one feared them. They came for many reasons. They needed to be executed for breaking one of the laws, they needed help with a rivalling coven or they were simply visiting, though the latter was rather rare. But the strangest reason to come to Volterra was without a doubt to ask the Volturi to end their life.

_I had been sitting in the throne room, talking to Corin about the first World War. It was one of the only things in history that I had actually experienced myself. Marcus had been sitting on his throne, staring at the wall while Caius was pacing back and forth, clearly irritated that there was nothing interesting going on at the castle lately. Suddenly Aro appeared in the room and told Caius to take a seat on his throne. Someone was coming. I got up from my seat on the ground and immediately took my place next to Aro when Santiago brought a vampire in. The man had long black hair and the look on his face had some sort of similarity to Marcus'. Marcus noticed it as well and suddenly got interested in whatever was going on. The man was fast, not abnormal for a vampire but it was his strength. He also loved someone, lost someone and that grief had become his weakness. I reached out my hand to Aro who took it and used it to make a decision._

"_I have come here to beg you for salvation," The vampire in front of us pleaded. "My mate is dead. I have avenged her but I no longer wish to live eternity without her."_

_He wanted to die? Why? Because his mate died?! So? Marcus' mate is also dead but you don't see him begging anyone to take his life. When you have eternity and power beyond humans' imagination, why would you give that up?_

"_We shall grant your wish," Aro told him before he let Felix decapitate him._

_Why would Aro allow this? Wasn't he supposed to take care of the vampires in this world? This vampire had done nothing wrong yet Aro still took his life. Even though it was at his own request, it still seemed terribly wrong to do so. For the first time I thought it was unnatural for vampires to kill other vampires. We were of the same kind. Why would we need to fight each other, kill each other? _

_I had the feeling Aro would have spared his life had my gift seen a special ability as his strength. Aro was using me._

The longer I stayed with the Volturi, the more respect I lost for Aro. His weakness had said it all. He was greedy and that was about the only emotion he was capable of feeling. Despite all that my loyalty never wavered, Marcus would have seen it if it had. I still believed very much in their cause and I was still very grateful for everything Aro had given me but I no longer admired him. I think he must have seen that in my thoughts but he never said a word about it.

My loyalty might not have shifted but I desired something different than before. I had been content with this life but now I no longer was. I wanted to leave the castle and not just to pick someone up at the gate. The best part about being a vampire is that you can do as you please and I wanted to see the rest of the world but I couldn't. I was trapped in this castle and the longer I stayed, the more I started to resent it. I wanted to leave the Volturi but something told me Aro wouldn't let me go. I had figured that maybe Marcus would understand. He had after all once desired to leave the Volturi with his mate.

_I had been sitting on the balcony, in the shadows, overlooking the humans in Volterra. Chelsea had amused herself with it lately. Breaking bonds of the humans and linking them to complete strangers. I thought it was cruel. I however liked to see what their weakness was. I noticed that with humans, they were almost always physical. Probably because humans are so breakable, so fragile._

"_It's a strange hobby you've developed." _

_Marcus had been standing behind me for some time but hadn't spoken until now. I slowly turned around to face the only master I truly liked. _

"_They're fascinating," I shrugged and couldn't help but remember when I used the same word to describe Archie after first meeting him._

"_They're weak," He stated._

"_Do you have any memories of your human life?" I asked him._

_I can imagine after travelling the world for so long as a vampire, you'd forget what it was like to be human. After the transformation I lost a lot of my human memories and the ones I still had were hazy, as if they were just a dream. I remember the night I died, the night I met Archie, surprisingly enough I remember Archie as a very different person. I also remember my family but only their faces. I can't remember their voices or what their touch felt like. Just a very vague memory of my human life._

"_No. That was too long ago," He told me._

_This would be the right moment to tell him about my desire to leave. But what if he wouldn't understand it either? The only way I could ever get out of here was if one of the masters supported my decision and that certainly wouldn't be Caius or Aro. _

"_Master Marcus? Have you ever desired something other than being part of the Volturi?" I asked him carefully._

_He looked at me as if trying to figure out why I had asked him such a thing but I believe he had known so for a while now. _

"_Yes, once upon a time I longed to leave this place and all the burdens that come with it, to just live and love," His face had brightened up in a way I had never seen before, but it quickly turned back to the gloomy look. "But I was young and foolish. I thought nothing could ever change my happiness," And now he sounded so incredibly bitter, like Caius._

"_Would it be terrible if I were young and foolish?" I whispered._

"_You're not even a hundred years old yet. You are supposed to be foolish," He smiled slightly._

"_I want to leave Volterra," I told him, cautious of his reaction._

_He nodded, because he had known all along._

"_You were always the one least connected to the others though I must say it surprised me that your loyalty didn't change as well," He looked at me now._

"_My loyalty still lies here. I still believe in our cause and I am grateful that I've even gotten the chance to be a part of it."_

"_But?" He asked._

"_But I want to see the world, I want to explore, I want to do the things I never would have gotten the chance for, were I still human but I can't do all those things if I'm trapped in here," I told him almost desperately._

"_I will talk to Aro."_

Ten years later I finally got what I had wanted; my freedom back. Though Aro had been reluctant about it, Marcus and Caius had been in favour. Caius didn't like me very much but my uneasiness lately had been the reason he didn't mind me being away from the castle. They did however ask me something in return. When the time comes that the Volturi need my help again, I should come. My loyalty should always stay with them. My promise was easy to make.

I thanked Marcus elaborately and I think he smiled a sincere smile at me the day I left. It was 1965 and for the first time in my vampire life, I was completely on my own. I was no longer stuck in that castle with too many vampires around. I also wasn't with another vampire I trusted, I was truly by myself and I liked it. During my human life I had been quite a loner as well, enjoying the moments I would be by myself.

The first years I travelled completely alone but I soon found the problem with that. Loners are easy targets and thanks to the Volturi and James I now knew there were vampires who take pleasure in taking other vampires' lives. I joined a woman named Mauri and a man named Gunther. They were both changed in 1462 by the same vampire. They were pleasant vampires to be around but all the love spewing from their bond of mates made me leave them again after a few years. It changed into a habit: find new vampires, travel with them for a while, leave after a few years, spend some time alone and then the cycle would begin again.

Over the years I had stayed with five different covens. Gunther and Mauri were the first and I stayed with them for five years. Next up was a nomad named Garrett who didn't mind me tagging along for a while. We stayed together for ten years since he and I got along so well. Next were two men and a woman, Vincent, Damon and Jenna, Vincent's mate. The mated couple wasn't as attached to the hip as Gunther and Mauri were but Damon made it very clear that their love sickened him. I thought he didn't want a mate, just like me but Vincent told me he was just very jealous because what he wanted more than anything was exactly what they had: a mate. I stayed with them for seven years.

After them I travelled together with another nomad named Laurent. It was rather confusing with the similarity of our names but he was an excellent hunter and like most people he admired my gift. I found it strange that his compliments for my ability didn't affect me like they would have years ago. I believe recognition for how special I was, didn't seem so special to me anymore. I didn't bond with Laurent the way I did with the others so I only stayed with him for three years.

The last coven I travelled with was made up out of two women named Tyria and Penelope. I had met them during one of my hunts, years after I had last seen Laurent.

_I had gone to Romania. The Volturi had told me about the Romanian coven and though I didn't desire to run into them, I felt the need to explore the country that once had held another powerful coven. It was a beautiful country and everywhere I went I could smell a vampire. Romania is the birth land of vampires for a reason. The woods with occasionally a village were perfect scenery for our lifestyle. I had smelled a lot of vampires but I still hadn't run into one. Not until I was deep in a forest, close to a village. I went out hunting but the people here do believe in vampires so they don't come out of their houses at night. What they don't know is that we can still feed of them during the day. _

_I was hungry, it had been a while since my last feed but no human was around. I didn't like the idea of going into someone's home and take a bite of a human in his sleep. It seemed too sneaky to me. So I wandered around the woods when I picked up several scents; two vampires and a lot of humans, bleeding humans. I ran as fast as I could in their direction, they were still a few miles away. I just hoped the two vampires wouldn't mind sharing._

_I entered an open spot filled with at least six humans. The two vampires were hissing at me, guarding their feed. I didn't mean them any harm but if they attacked me, I would certainly defend myself. The vampires were both female and both blond. One of them, which I assumed was the leader and the oldest one looked to be changed around the age of 25. The second one was shorter and seemed younger than me in both ways, she looked like a 15-year old. She had a certain graveyard vibe around her that made me dislike her the moment I laid eyes on her. She couldn't have been changed that long ago. She wasn't a newborn anymore but there was still something undeveloped in the way she moved. She couldn't have been older than five years. Neither had a gift and that made me more comfortable. Gifted vampires were always more threatening because they almost had like a sixth sense. _

_The younger vampire was sloppy, she never cleaned up the mess she made and even a lousy tracker could find her in a heartbeat, well not theirs of course. But she was rather fast for a vampire, not to the point of unusual but it was what made her such a great companion for the other vampire._

_The older one had experience, that was her strength. She must have been over six hundred years old but her weakness was the fact that she was never satisfied. Whenever she desired something and got it, it lost its appeal to her. She always wanted more. In a way she reminded me a bit of myself and I couldn't help but wonder if maybe that was my weakness as well. _

_They were both glaring and hissing at me. That was not necessary, I had just wanted to see if maybe they were prepared to give me one of their humans. I was rather hungry and with my ability I would have been able to fight them for a meal but I was still a vampire with honour, though we are a rare breed. _

_Suddenly the younger one leaped towards me, ignoring her companion's hissed warnings and tried to take a swing at me. It wasn't that hard to realise she had never been in an actual fight before. Her fighting skills were sloppy as well. She was fighting like a human. It was fairly easy for me to avoid getting hit by her and take her arm in a firm lock. She was growling out in anger but she was probably also afraid I'd rip her arm off. There was no need for that._

"_I don't mean you harm, I just wanted to see if you were prepared to share your catch with me since there are hardly any humans around," I addressed the older vampire who had been watching us, not trying to intervene in the slightest while her companion was still hissing at me. _

_She nodded and pointed towards an older man they had not fed off yet. I quickly released the vampire and made my way over to the human to sink my teeth in his neck. I almost moaned when I tasted blood after being deprived off it for a while. I'm used to feeding every few days but now I had gone longer than two weeks without a meal. I could tell the two vampires were watching me cautiously but neither made another move to get close to me. After my feeding I finally looked at the other humans. Besides the man I had just drained, there was one older woman as well, the rest of them were children. One of them barely seven years old. That was wrong._

"_Who are you?" The older vampire addressed me._

"_My name's Laurence, you?"_

_She introduced herself to me as Tyria and told me the other one was named Penelope. The younger one was glaring, clearly not pleased with my presence. They told me where they came from in exchange for my story. They were fascinated by my gift as well, especially Tyria. Penelope didn't seem to be very impressed by it and seemed almost angry Tyria took the time to talk to me. They, just Tyria actually, offered me to travel with them, a preposition I gladly took. I hadn't travelled with another vampire in a long time. _


	5. They are not the same

**Happy New Year! I hope 2013 will be a year filled with happiness for all of you! **

**Shame on me! I didn't update this chapter on Monday! But I guess people were pretty occupied with New Year's Eve, including me. This does kind of suck because it's the first time I missed my own deadline :s And this chapter has even been ready for ages. Well, can't change it now. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and do tell me what you think of it.**

**And thanks for the reviews of course ;) **

_** The Red Crayon :**__How did I come up with the characters? Good question. I don't really know. Sometimes they just flow out of my pen. Although my characters are often based on other ones I've created but then altered them so much that they seem like completely other people. Then I just change their names and their back ground stories and TADA: new characters. Although Tyria and Penelope are based on a picture I once saw. When I say based, you need to interpret that pretty large. _

_The back ground story is pretty important but also kind of long. So I'm glad you didn't think I made it too boring; It's necessary to have a history I think. I'm not a big fan about the stories where they meet the guy and they just give you random facts through the stories about what happened before. It's like 'Oh, I need more dept in my story. I know, let's say she was in a very traumatic car crash a few months ago but it never came up until now'. I don't like that. _

_** Lorem Tenebrae : **__Fantastic? Wow, that's a nice compliment. Thanks :D_

_** xxxRena : **__I love Garrett too! There's just so much potential there. He seemed like a guy Laurence would get along with so I snuck him in there. Might still make an appearance afterwards as well..._

_Haha, it's so funny that you bring up Breaking Dawn because I actually already have in mind what Laurence's part will be in there. But since we're not even up to the time period of the first book, that's still many, many chapters away._

_** scigeekgirl : **__Glad you like the details. Just thought you should all know what she's really about before she met Emmett. Now she'll make a lot more sense. As for Emmett's debut..._

_** Noble Beauty : **__I'm happy as well that you like the story. Let's see if Emmett's in this chapter..._

_** kate x wolfe : **__Brilliant?! You make me blush :) Okay, because you begged so nicely!_

_** Luli Cullen : **__I'm really glad you like this story. Hopefully you continue to enjoy it. _

**Chapter 5**

I had only been with Tyria and Penelope for a few months but I already knew I wouldn't stay with them for a long time. Not many vampires have respect for human life since we do kill them, but I had not met any vampires like those two. They killed more humans than they actually needed to satisfy their thirst. They, like other vampires I had met, liked to play games but not even Archie's games had been as sick and twisted as theirs.

I had just drained one human and was finally satisfied for the night. Me and the two other vampires of the coven I had temporarily joined hardly ever hunted together, I just didn't enjoy it as much as hunting alone. I figured it to be time and took off to find them. It wasn't that hard to track them down, they were only a few miles away. They had entered a mansion and I followed in their footsteps. Nothing had made my stomach turn ever since I became a vampire but the sight in front of me did.

The room was stacked with bodies, there must have been a party of some kind going on before Tyria and Penelope crashed it since the humans had all been wearing beautiful clothes. They weren't so beautiful anymore now, covered in blood. Tyria was feeding of a woman while Penelope held on to a quivering man. He was still alive and watched Tyria suck the woman's blood in horror. I figured she must have been his wife or something. Penelope kept whispering in his ear what she was going to do with him and made him bleed with her nails. She was careful to not bite him when she licked the blood she had spilled. So that she would be able to torture him just a while longer. When she eventually got tired of her little game, she tore his heart out of his chest and Tyria just laughed. I couldn't help but feel completely repulsed by them.

"Hi Laurence. Did you have a good hunt? If not, I'm sure there are still some bodies here that aren't completely drained." Tyria smiled at me.

I'm sure they must have created a vampire before without wanting it, just because they don't drain their bodies completely. I searched the room for bodies with some blood left in them, which I found. I wouldn't want any of them to change into a vampire. When you change one, he or she becomes your responsibility and I don't feel like taking care of a newborn.

Penelope glared at me the entire time, like she usually does. She doesn't like me, mainly because Tyria does. Her whole vampire life she always had Tyria all to herself and now she didn't. She's a little jealous but since vampires feel everything so intensely it means she's extremely jealous to the point where I know she wants to rip my head off my body but she knows very well she could never be able to do that. Tyria had taken a great interest in my gift and has been trying to persuade me in staying permanently with her coven but I've always made it very clear this was only a temporarily arrangement. I do not feel in any way the need to spend my entire existence with these two.

"Must you play with your food?" I asked them when we left the mansion, after we burned it to the ground. We shouldn't leave any evidence.

"That's the fun part," Penelope giggled before speeding off in front of us.

"We'll be heading towards Canada. I haven't been there in eighty years," Tyria told me.

So that is exactly what we did. We stayed in Toronto for a while. Penelope hated the place and that just made me eager to spend more time there. Tyria gave me what I wanted and we stayed in Toronto for four months. I was getting tired of always moving around, it was nice to spend some time at the same place. Eventually we decided to move on and headed west. In one of the local towns, we encountered something truly different.

We had been moving through the woods when we suddenly picked up a scent. Other vampires. Penelope had never met another vampire beside me and her creator. She seemed excited and started whining like the little kid she was, to follow the trail. Tyria always gave the girl what she wanted so we found ourselves trailing the scent. It had been the scent of two vampires, the trail was a week old. Tyria was quite the tracker and thanks to my training in the Volturi, I wasn't embarrassingly bad at it anymore Penelope however was horrible at it but I had been too my first years. I wondered what would have happened to the girl, had Tyria not stayed with her or if she would ever decide to leave Penelope.

The trail let us towards a beautiful house in the middle of the woods. Me as well as Tyria hesitated when we got closer to the house, Penelope however had no idea why we suddenly stopped. The scent coming from the house clearly wasn't human which we had anticipated since we followed the trail of a vampire. But we hadn't expected seven vampires. There were only three of us and Penelope was hardly any good at defending herself. If they meant us harm, we would be in great danger. Well, they would be since I could easily fight off the vampires and make a run for it. My loyalty is not to Tyria's coven.

Before we could decide to go back, a vampire came out of the house. He was tall, blond and as beautiful as every vampire. He seemed to be changed when he was around 30 years old. He had amazing self control but I knew that he was not to his full capacity as a vampire. Probably because he hadn't fed in a while. I looked at his eyes to see if they were black but they weren't. They weren't even the red colour I had seen on every vampire. He had golden eyes. How was such a thing even possible?!

Soon the other vampires came out as well and when they were eying us, I took the time to figure out their strong and weak points. The one standing next to the first vampire was pale with light brown hair, she was obviously his mate. She was very sensitive and believed in second chances more than anyone else. I found it a strange strength but it must have gotten her far in this existence.

The one following after her was another female vampire. She was absolutely gorgeous, even for a vampire. She had long blond wavy hair and in a way her beauty reminded me of Heidi. Her beauty was her strength as well.

Than a man come into view who had quite the peculiar gift. His messy hair had a bronze shade but even though he looked rather attractive that's not what made him interesting to me. He was a mind reader. He seemed surprised to find in my mind that I knew this. He could read my thoughts like that, he didn't even have to hold my hand for it. I stared at him for quite some time until another interesting person came out.

The next vampire was rather tiny though she had other assets. The short dark haired woman had the ability to see the future, it did however depend on people's decisions so it wasn't always the inevitable truth. I'm sure she saw us coming since none of them seemed to be all that surprised with our presence. My, what it would be like to have a gift like that around.

The vampire who stood next to her and who I assumed was her mate judging by the protective pose, had the ability to manipulate other people's emotions. Very useful as well. The vampire was blond, tall and lean. The way he moved made me realise he was a trained fighter while the others were not. The fact that such a vampire was among them made me wary and the way he looked at me made me realise he felt the same. He must have realised that I too have been trained to fight. He would be the most difficult one to defeat if it came to that.

The last vampire was very big and stronger than a usual vampire. He reminded me a bit of Felix and Santiago, they had also been bulky but there was something about this vampire that they hadn't. I couldn't really put my finger on it but I found myself enjoying watching in those golden eyes. His muscular form was slightly intimidating though I realised there was something surprisingly childish about his face.

There was one thing they all had in common: they were not as strong as they should be and somehow I got the feeling those golden eyes had something to do with it.

"Greetings, my friends," The first vampire finally spoke up and our three heads immediately snapped in his direction, making me break eye contact with the last vampire. "My name is Carlisle Cullen and this is my family."

I thought it was strange he referred to his coven as a family but I was too busy figuring out where I had heard his name before. I remember a few people of the guard making jokes about 'another diet'. When I had asked them what they meant by that, they told me there was a vampire named Carlisle Cullen who refused to feed of humans and drank the blood of animals instead. He called himself a vegetarian. I wonder if they knew he had an entire vampire family with those feeding habits. The mind reader looked at me as if he found it intriguing what was going on in my mind.

"This is my wife, Esme," Wife? Why didn't he just call her his mate? The title of wife holds no meaning to vampires. "My daughters Alice and Rosalie," He pointed out the two other female vampires. So the one who saw the future was named Alice. "My sons Jasper, Emmet and Edward."

'Hello, Edward,' I thought to the mind reader.

The fighter's name was Jasper and the big vampire was named Emmett. That name seemed to suit him for some reason.

"And you are?" Carlisle asked us politely.

I would have spoken up myself had Tyria not been so persistent on me viewing her as the head of our little travel company. So I wisely kept my mouth and let her answer him.

"My name is Tyria. This is Penelope and that's Laurence."

The vampire named Emmett's eyes landed on me and while the conversation continued between Tyria and Carlisle Cullen, he did not take his eyes off me.

"May I ask what you are doing in this area? Vampires hardly ever pass here."

What he meant was no vampire hunted in these woods since they don't feed of forest animals.

"We found your trail a few villages further. We were curious," Penelope interrupted the conversation, much to Tyria's dismay.

"We were about to play a game of baseball, would you like to join us?" The girl named Alice spoke excitedly as if she knew something we didn't. She probably did.

I could tell Tyria didn't want to join their little game. She seemed to be rather uncomfortable and I'm sure she rather wanted to decline their offer so she could get away from here as fast as possible.

"We'd love to," I answered for the three of us.

Tyria may not like them but I was curious as to why the short one was so excited to have us join them. She immediately smiled when she realised I had answered instead of Tyria and told us to follow her as she and her mate took off. I took off right after her, the mind reader right behind me. Good, I had wanted to talk to him.

"Why?" He asked me.

'How does your gift work exactly? Do you hear clear thoughts the way I hear my own or is it more selective. Do you have to be in close proximity or does it not matter?' I thought to him.

"Loud and clear. I can hear people's thoughts if they are close enough that I can also hear them talk out loud."

Interesting... I realised the other vampires were following us now as well. Though Tyria was staying at the end of the group, Penelope had already passed me and the mind reader. The vampire Emmett was running right behind me and I couldn't help but be very much aware of his close presence.

"How does yours work?"

'My what?' I played innocently.

"Your gift."

'What makes you even think I have one?'

"You see these glows around people, it's rather strange and you also knew I was a mind reader the second you saw me."

'Maybe I'm just a mind reader as well,' I teased him.

"I would have known if you were."

'Let's just keep my special gift as a secret for now. I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.'

He didn't seem too happy about me not telling him but there was fairly little he could do about it. He could see in my mind the glow I see around people. He just doesn't get what they mean.

We arrived at a clearing big enough to play the game at vampire speed. Wonderful, it had been a while since I ran at full speed. Would tackling be allowed in the game because that has been a while as well.

"It is," The mind reader nodded to me when the short vampire started explaining the rules. Good thing she did because I didn't know them. I had heard of the game before but had never actually played it or seen it play before.

"We do have names," He grumbled, slightly annoyed by me calling his 'sister' the short vampire.

'Doesn't your coven ever get tired of you in their minds? I just met you and it's already annoying me.'

"Apparently you get used to it. Haven't you? Since it seems to me you've already met another vampire who can read minds."

'I have but he would be jealous of your ability to read people's mind without having to touch them.'

By the look on his face I could tell he knew who I was talking about, after all Aro of the Volturi is quite the famous vampire.

"How do you know him?"

'So many questions, Edward. I thought we were here to play a game,' I silently laughed while heading over to the other vampires. I made sure not to get too close to the one named Jasper since his combat experience was slightly frightening.

"We'll divide into two teams. Team one: Carlisle, Esme and our guests. Team two: Me, Jasper, Edward, Emmett and Rosalie."

That was hardly fair if you ask me. Their team had Edward who knew everyone's move once they thought of it and Alice, who had seen the move probably minutes beforehand. Edward just grinned at my huff of injustice. He would be sorely disappointed in himself once he loses.

Carlisle was up first. When he hit the bat, the ball flew so far human eyes could not possibly have followed it. Jasper and Emmett raced at it together and clashed their chests which made an ear deafening sound. Good thing we were playing during a thunder storm but I'm sure that wasn't a coincidence. Emmett threw the ball back at Rosalie who called Carlisle out. This sure looked like fun.

Next up was Penelope and even though Edward had caught the ball pretty fast, she had been able to make a full home run. I was next and had hit exactly towards the area they would find it harder to catch the ball so even though I'm not the fastest vampire, I made a home run as well.

We continued playing the game until the storm had passed. I had actually enjoyed myself. A lot even, more than I have in a while. There was just something carefree about these vampires. They sure were different than the others of our kind.

"It's not the same kind," The mind reader had popped up next to me again when we started making our way back to their house.

'You call yourself a different kind? Because you're supposedly 'vegetarians'?' I thought.

He nodded. What was so different about them that they'd call themselves another kind? It can't just be because of the diet.

"It's related. Because we don't feed of humans but drink animal blood instead, we find it easier to bond. Our bonds go deeper than those of other covens, that's why we call ourselves a family."

How very human of them.

"You drink animal blood?!" Penelope shrieked, clearly disgusted by the idea of drinking other blood.

"Yes, we do not wish to harm any humans," Carlisle responded.

Penelope looked completely appalled and I guess she just lost any interest she might have had in this coven. Tyria on the other hand started laughing. Not the kind that makes you want to join in but the kind that would have sent chills down your spine if you were still human. She sounded really evil right now.

"You don't want to harm humans?" She mocked. "What kind of a sad excuse are you for a vampire?!" She said menacingly and the Cullens clearly didn't appreciate the tone she used to address the head of their family.

I wondered if Carlisle would have better understood her reaction if he had ever seen the two of them hunt. I played the images in my head and I could tell it was making the mind reader uncomfortable. Are they less in control of themselves around humans because depriving themselves the blood they need just makes them crave it even more?

"No," Edward said. "We hardly ever slip up."

Hardly ever? So they do. I wondered if they were all behind the idea of being a 'vegetarian vampire' or if some of them were just running along with the idea.

"It would be very hard to keep up this lifestyle if you didn't believe it to be right."

"Right? You think depriving yourself of our natural feeding source is right? It is wrong to fight your instincts!" Tyria hissed.

She clearly thought the idea of feeding on animals instead of humans was intolerable. I wouldn't want to try their diet either but if that's how they want to live, I don't care.

"Maybe you'd feel differently about it if you spend some time here," The short vampire said, still sounding excited even though the atmosphere had gotten really tense by now.

Stay here? I don't think Tyria and Penelope are open to that idea.

"But are you?" The mind reader asked.

Good question. I can't deny the fact that this 'family' is something I've never encountered before and had I not left before to see the things in the world I didn't know exist? It would definitely be interesting to see why these vampires have chosen a lifestyle so unlike the others of our kind, or maybe my kind since they think of themselves as another one.

"Okay," I nodded.

"What!?" Tyria shrieked. "There is no way we're staying here."

"I didn't say anything about 'we'. You and Penelope are free to leave," I sneered.

She didn't like that. Penelope on the other hand just smiled. I think she's glad to finally be rid of me. But knowing Tyria and her interest in my gift, she won't back down that easily.

"Fine, we'll stay," She said with her teeth clenched.

The vampire who had suggested the whole idea looked excited while the others seemed to prefer us leaving. But we were staying now, only for a little while. I followed the vampires into their beautiful home with an angry Tyria and Penelope behind me.


	6. We are savages

**Thank you so much for all the people who reviewed, faved or put this story on alert. It's nice to know it's being appreciated.**

** Luli Cullen : **_Yep, I'm glad they're in the story as well. It means lots of fun chapters are coming up. I hope you'll like this one._

** Lorem tenebrae : **_Yes, why would Alice be so excited…. :p_

** scigeekgirl : **_Yes, that is one strange co-habitation. Drama will most likely ensue. _

** xxxRena : **_I'm happy Emmett made his appearance as well. It's so much fun writing about him. Thanks for loving this story so far._

** DishclothRioter : **_You're right. I never said Emmett and Rosalie are mates. That's because they aren't in this story. As for the rest, their background stories haven't changed much. Rosalie did find Emmett being moulded by a bear and did carry him all the way back to Carlisle to beg him to change him. The only difference is that they tried dating but the chemistry just wasn't there. They're better of as siblings than as lovers. _

** Lady of Sign : **_I hope you do find this chapter and interesting one._

** kate x wolfe : **_I do plan on having Laurence have specific bonds with every member of the Cullen family, whether it be love or hate. However, now that you've mentioned it I haven't really thought about how Alice and Laurence would get along. Maybe it would be a good idea to sneak in a conversation between the two of them somewhere. Not a bad idea :)_

**Chapter 6**

Staying with the Cullens wasn't that bad, at least in my opinion it wasn't. Tyria however never missed an opportunity to point out exactly how wrong their lifestyle and therefore they were. We had only been here for a day. The Cullens had gone hunting and left us alone in their house. Because they feed of animals they need to hunt more frequently and even though the three of us weren't hungry, Penelope whined because she wanted to go hunting as well but on humans of course.

"I can't believe we are staying here," She groaned.

"Well, why did you want to stay then?" I asked them.

"Why did you?" Tyria asked.

Why did I? Honestly I don't know but they were different and special and my entire human life and vampire existence I have been fascinated by everything different and extraordinary and therefore I was fascinated by these vampires.

"Because I do. You clearly don't so my question to you is why you stayed when you didn't want to," I dared her.

She acted like it didn't matter but she was still playing with the idea of making me a permanent addition to her little coven. Even without the Cullen's intervention that would never happen. I'm actually playing with the idea to get away from the two of them as soon as this little trip is over. I've been thinking about visiting Archie lately. I haven't seen him in almost a hundred years and my anger is finally diminishing. I might actually like seeing him again, find out what happened to him since the last time I saw him and whether or not he is still alive.

It was only a few hours later that the Cullens returned. Penelope and Tyria decided to go hunting now but I did not feel the need to join them. My appetite wasn't as big as theirs and I thought it would be a good idea to get to know them a little better without Tyria's disapproving gaze and Penelope's look of distain. I thought I'd get to know the 'mother' of this family a little better, Esme. I found her in the kitchen.

"Why do you even have a kitchen?" I asked her walking in.

"To keep up pretences. We don't want people to get suspicious," She smiled.

Esme has a warm personality. Edward said there was such a motherly vibe over her but she did not remind me of my human mother in any way.

"Why do you even want to live like this?"

"It keeps us civilised."

The moment she said it, I think she knew how she made the others of our kind sound.

"Because I am a savage?" I asked her, slightly angry.

"No, I didn't mean it like that at all. I'm sorry if I offended you."

She seemed sincerely sorry so I let it slide. There had been a question I had wanted to ask her and I would not get an answer out of her if she was too intimidated by me.

"So why go vegetarian? Don't you crave human blood?"

"Rarely. We've all learned to control it."

"Whose idea was it anyway to start this crazy diet?"

"Carlisle didn't want to hurt humans when he was changed and found out he could survive on animal blood as well."

"It makes you weaker," I stated.

Why would you go with a different feeding pattern if it made you weaker? They were vampires, strongest predators in this world yet they willingly gave up a part of their strength because they didn't want to hurt humans?! That is ridiculous.

"Carlisle and Rosalie actually never fed of a human," Esme told me.

What?! How is that possible? Had they not felt that burning thirst when they were first changed? How could you possibly resist that? They were all a little crazy in the head if you ask me though not as badly as Tyria or Penelope. Speaking of those two, I think I might find something to eat now. Esme looked displeased when I told her I was going hunting. They didn't like other vampires feeding of humans either. I'm sure if they could, they would make the entire vampire race vegetarian.

I had been running for a few miles when a familiar scent hit me. It was one of the Cullens but I hadn't been with them long enough to recognise who the scent belonged to. It was clearly male but that still left four options. Whichever one it was, wasn't very good at sneaking around. He was trying to circle me as if I hadn't even noticed him yet. That meant it wasn't the one with all the scars, he was more experienced in the art of war than this one. It wouldn't be the mind reader either since he would already know I was aware of his presence. I decided to play along with his little game and pretend I didn't notice him. He must have fallen for the little charade because when he suddenly appeared right in front of me, he seemed surprised that he didn't catch me off guard.

It was the bulky vampire named Emmett. This was the first time I got such a close look at him and I have seen better looking vampires but there was a certain quality about him that I had not seen before.

"You don't seem surprised."

His voice sounded smooth like that of every vampire but I detected a tad of disappointment in it. Was he sad that he hadn't been able to surprise me? Not a lot of vampires can anymore.

"Don't feel bad about it. Nobody has surprised me in a long time," I teased, passing him by.

I figured he would just leave me alone but after a while I could feel his presence again behind me. Was there something he wanted from me?

"What do you mean with a long time?" He asked me running next to me now.

I just looked at him. I didn't know what he meant with that question. A long time is a long time.

"What I mean is, how old are you?"

"Don't you know it's rude to ask a woman's age?" I grinned slightly.

He smiled in return. There was not vindictive hint in that smile and for a moment I wondered if he really was a vampire.

"How about you just tell me how old you were when you were changed?"

Normally I would tell the person it's none of their business but he looked so curious, in an almost childish way that I couldn't help but answer his question.

"I was changed a few days before my eighteenth birthday. Technically that makes me seventeen forever but I like to say I'm eighteen."

I was supposed to be eighteen. Archie had promised me on the night we met that I would be eighteen forever but I guess he didn't know what day was my birthday when he changed me.

"I'm twenty," He told me.

"And how long have you been twenty?" I asked him while still trying to find someone to feed on.

"A long time," He grinned, giving me my own answer.

The vampire liked playing games. He just doesn't know yet that I always win. I rolled my eyes at his answer and sped up a little. I was getting rather thirsty and I'm sure this Emmett would disappear once he sees me feeding of one of their precious humans.

"Sixty three years," He finally told me.

"You're practically a baby," I scoffed and he definitely did not appreciate that comment.

"Does that make you the grandmother?" He teased but I definitely didn't see it that way.

If looks could kill, the vampire would be dead. I glared at him so viciously that he seemed surprised by it. If he thought he was dealing with someone whose emotions don't easily escalate, I'm really starting to wonder if he is a vampire or even ever encountered one. I didn't speak to him for the next few miles but he still looked at me as if expecting an answer.

"I was born in 1869. You do the math," I sighed.

"You're older than Edward," He smiled.

Was that some kind of standard to be considered old?

"And?"

"And he could have been my father which means you really do have the age to be my grandmother," He smiled as if he just announced something wonderful.

I stared at him because I couldn't believe this vampire could possibly be as daft as he's acting now. I might not miss my human life but that doesn't mean I like to be pointed out that I could have been a grandmother, a mother. Somehow that was a sore spot. I would have hated marriage, I would have hated playing the role my mother had played but the idea of having a child similar to myself had always been something I wouldn't have minded, something I would have wanted had I ever reached the age to have a ticking biological clock.

"I'm hunting," I told him.

"It doesn't look like it," He grinned.

"That's because you won't go away. Your ridiculously booming laughter will chase any humans away."

When I told him he was scaring off the humans, he looked a little surprised. Had he forgotten that I didn't share his strange diet? It seemed like he did. Why else would he have lost his tongue when I mentioned I chase humans.

"I'll leave you to it then," He told me before turning around.

The vampire easily left my mind once I found two hikers who smelled really good. I drained them quickly so I could go back to the Cullens' house. But then I thought, there are just too many vampires for that small space. I should grasp this opportunity to spend some time by myself. It has been a rarity lately. Unfortunately I wouldn't be getting it now either because I smelled two familiar scents approaching me. Penelope and Tyria. They came sooner than I expected them to and were completely covered in the blood of their victims. Something tells me they made a mess on purpose, probably to aggravate the Cullens.

"You clearly never heard of table manners," I teased but as usually Penelope took it the wrong way and just scowled at me.

"I'm glad we ran into you here. This is the perfect opportunity to leave," Tyria said.

"Leave?"

"Come on, you can't honestly want to stay with them. They're unnatural," Penelope hissed.

"They're one of a kind, you've got that right."

"We want to leave," Penelope shouted.

"I'm not stopping you," I grinned.

I was wondering how long Tyria would be able to suppress her disgust for the Cullens and stay here out of greed for my gift.

"Let's just head back," Tyria sighed.

"Aren't you going to change first?" I asked them, looking at their clothes drenched in blood.

"No," Penelope smiled vindictively.

"Suit it yourself but I don't think it's a good idea to make them angry," I shrugged.

"What can they do? They aren't strong enough to take us on, they don't feed like we do," Tyria sounded so sure of herself.

"Don't say I didn't warn you. The blond guy, he is a trained fighter. You wouldn't last two seconds if you picked a fight with him," I tried to scare them but that doesn't mean it isn't the truth.

They still didn't change their clothes and got back to the Cullen's house in their bloody state. I was keeping my distance following them. If the blond vampire would attack them, I wasn't going to stand in the way.

When we entered the house again all of their heads immediately snapped in Tyria's and Penelope's direction. I had been correct, they most definitely didn't like it. They all seemed really tense and no one would say a word.

"You are our guests but we will not tolerate you bringing human blood into our home," Carlisle eventually spoke and I was surprised by how calm he sounded even though this must be driving them insane.

"Whoops," Penelope just grinned and that ticked them off.

The blond woman, Rosalie jumped up and grabbed Penelope by the throat. Immediately Tyria leaped at her but she was blocked by Emmett. The blond vampire stood as well and seemed about ready to attack me and I hadn't even moved since I walked into the house.

"I wouldn't do that," I told him calmly.

After all I would have to defend myself if he attacks me and I'm not very good at stopping once I start ripping a vampire to pieces.

"She's right, Jasper. Don't," The fortune teller said to him and she was the only person he actually listened to.

It took him a lot of effort but he didn't come at me. Instead he just kept glaring at me and I started feeling very angry all of the sudden but I figured it must be because he was projecting his feelings on me. Tyria and Penelope however were still fighting Rosalie and Emmett. If nobody interfered soon, two of them would end up dismembered. None of them are very good fighters so I think I'll just make them stop. I quickly stood next to them evading he punches they were throwing around, grabbed their arms in unbreakable locks and involuntarily smacked them against opposite walls. I was about to do the same to Tyria and Emmett when the big vampire abruptly stopped fighting her and smiled at me. That's strange. Tyria was about to lung at him again but the mind reader stopped her. Great, now we can finally at least pretend we're civilised.

For a while nobody said anything and most of them tried to avoid eye contact with each other. I must have been the only one who wasn't on edge although the staring from the vampire named Jasper was getting rather annoying. Eventually Penelope and Tyria just straightened up and left. I do believe they'll be back, unfortunately.

"Okay, I have to know. Where did you learn to fight like that?" Rosalie asked me and I think I heard some awe in her voice which would be strange since she just always seemed to be sulking.

"I had very good teachers," I smiled.

"Who?" Jasper asked me.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," I grinned at him but it just made him sneer at me.

He didn't look like he would tell me but the mind reader, Edward, spoke up instead.

"Jasper was in the Southern wars," He told me.

I had already known that the vampire knew how to handle newborns, I guess I should have realised that he fought in the Southern wars before. It wasn't that hard to figure out, especially with his accent. But what I really had wanted to know, was a name.

"Her name was Maria," Edward told me.

Her name didn't ring any bells but then again, she could be dead by now for all I or he knew.

"Jasper was in the army when he was changed, it taught him how to fight."

I understand. He was already a warrior before he was changed and this Maria person just needed to teach him how to fight like a vampire. It's probably also the reason she changed him in the first place. Clever woman.

"You?"

I think that was the most Jasper ever spoke to me and it was just one word.

"Archie taught me how to fight, he is my creator," Though he wasn't the one who taught me how to fight the way I do now. "And my gift comes in quite handy as well."

"What is your gift?" The mind reader asked me.

I'm sure he's been dying to know what it is. It is very amusing to me that he doesn't understand what the glows in my vision mean. I sighed. I think I could trust these vampires with a little information about myself.

"I can see people's weaknesses and strengths," I confessed.

"How does that work?" Carlisle Cullen asked me.

I can vaguely remember hearing that Carlisle Cullen was fascinated by our species and wanted to figure out everything there was about vampires.

"I see glows, like he must know," I pointed to the mind reader.

"In my mind it translates like the weakest point and strongest point of a person. For example, I knew with one look that Edward was a mind reader because that's his strength and his weakness is his diet. Because you don't feed of humans, you are all not as strong as you could be. That's your weakness," I explained to them all but they didn't seem very pleased that I called their vegetarianism a weakness.

"Does it work in battle?" Jasper asked me and I nodded.

He didn't seem to like the fact that my gift made it very hard for them to beat me.

"Could you show us?" Emmett seemed quite eager and I had to fight the urge to smile at him.

"I could but I only fight to kill so that wouldn't turn out well for you. I've never lost a fight before," I grinned.

I knew that Jasper had never lost a fight before either but he must know that he could not beat me with a gift like mine. None of them seemed prepared to take the risk.

"Then why do you travel with those two?" Edward asked me.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't need the protection of a coven with such a gift and I've seen in your mind that you don't like either of them," He said.

"I like being on my own but every few years I look for a new coven to travel with for a while. About a year ago I crossed paths with Tyria and Penelope. They asked me to join them for a while and I simply agreed. It doesn't mean I'll stay with them."

I had already made up my mind that I would go on my own again soon. Tyria's behaviour was really starting to aggravate me, even more than Penelope's.

They had all asked me about their strengths, even Jasper. If you're given the opportunity to know that, you don't simply pass up because you don't like me. I had told them how my gift worked, I had told them about Archie and I had shown them how I used my gift in battle when I had pulled Rosalie and Tyria apart. This family of vampires already knew more about me then my two companions.

**Please, please review! It would make me so very happy! :D**


	7. He is so unlike me

**Thanks everyone who is liking the story and especially the ones who let me know about it. :)**

** Lorem tenebrae : **_Yes, I guess Laurence does kick ass :p I hope you like the new thank you for being such a faithful reviewer. _

** Luli Cullen : **_Tyria and Penelope really are irritating, I kind of meant for them to be easy to dislike. They actually bug me as well but who know how long they'll still be in the story? Well, I know but that doesn't really count :) Well, here you have the new update, I hope you'll enjoy it. Thanks for always reviewing. _

** The Red Crayon : **_I want to update more as well but I know that I won't be able to update frequently throughout the entire story and that's really important to me so for now it'll be just one update every two weeks. If by some miracle I finish the story really soon (but I'm not even close that that) I'll past the chapters quicker but it's probably best not to count on it. Thanks for all the lovely compliments. I'm glad you like the story and the thank you for always leaving such great reviews. _

** xxxRena : **_Emmett is adorable! At least, that's the way I view him and therefore the way he will be described in this story. Hopefully you like the following developments. Thanks for reviewing every chapter. _

** DishclothRioter : **_I totally agree with you. I don't like the stories where they look at each other and BAM! They're in love. It's also really boring to write about such a thing, I prefer the relationships that are hard and come with a lot of fights :)Yes, Laurence doesn't really seem to be warming up to Emmett at the moment so that means I get to write a lot of fun scenes. _

** HazelSkye : **_The story is about Laurence and Emmett which in my world means Emmett and Rosalie aren't a thing. She is the reason he was changed but soon after they realised they don't really have any romantic feelings for each other. Edward and Rosalie aren't a thing either, they both don't have mates. I'm a big fan of love triangles but somehow I'm not that good at writing about it (at least not through an entire story). I'm glad you like my stories and this main character. Thanks a lot for reviewing. _

**For all those wondering: Rosalie and Emmett were never a thing. **

**Chapter 7**

Penelope and Tyria did come back but they hardly stayed for longer than one hour in the house. They would always go hunting whenever one of the Cullens had upset them again and that happened a lot. I on the other hand found myself starting to enjoy the company of those strange vampires. I can honestly say they truly are one of a kind.

I knew all the other vampires could hear me if I were to talk to another one in the house but I felt like I should talk to Carlisle Cullen. He was one of the rare people who could call themselves a friend of Aro Volturi, that should count for something.

"Hello Laurence, come in," He smiled at me when I opened the door to his office.

The room wasn't all that special, just a normal office although it was decorated in a rather modern style for me. I wasn't very up to date with the latest fashions in clothes or design. But what really got my attention was a painting hanging on one of the walls. The painting clearly showed the Volturi in the company of the man who had come to stand next to me.

"They are the Volturi. Have you heard of them before?"

I simply nodded. I don't know yet what the opinion of the Cullens is on the Volturi. From experience I've come to learn that most vampires don't like to run in to someone who used to be a part of their guard. It frightens them and for some reason I did not want these vampires to be afraid of me.

"I used to live with them for a while back in the beginning of the nineteenth century."

He used to live with them? I had not known that. And during the nineteenth century? I must have just missed him then, by a few decades.

"And what did you think of them?"

"I've never met more sophisticated vampires and that is what interested me when I first met them. I had been studying medicines in Italy when I accidentally crossed paths with them. They had asked me to join them but they drink human blood. I could not be a part of a coven that feeds of innocents."

"The little deers aren't innocent?"

"I'd rather kill an animal than a human being."

"I will never understand your strange diet," I sighed.

"You don't have to. I am already relieved you are not as appalled by it as the vampires you travel with."

Another thing I don't understand is why the Cullens still haven't thrown us out of their house, especially after the way Tyria and Penelope showed absolutely no respect for their life style. I don't actually respect it either, but I don't spit on it the way they did when they entered the house with human blood on their clothes.

"You actually remind me of them," He told me while looking at the painting with Marcus, Aro and Caius in it.

"I do?"

"Yes, there is something very civilised about you as well even though you also feed of humans."

Civilised? Me? I don't think I could possibly live up to the standard that Carlisle Cullen has set for 'civilised'. Or maybe he just means that I don't go on a rampage the way newborns do. A lot of vampires actually maintain that incredible need for human blood, they just learn how to control it a little better. I do have to admit that compared to most vampires, I have more than an average appetite but I can also go a long time without any blood and not go crazy with thirst.

"Carlisle? Esme was wondering if you would like to go hunting with her," We got interrupted by the vampire I had already heard approaching before he entered the room.

"Thank you, Emmett. Will you be joining us?" He asked the bulky vampire.

"I'm good," He smiled.

"Can I tempt you into joining us?" Carlisle addressed me.

"No," I told him firmly and even though he should have expected that answer, he seemed a little disappointed.

Carlisle left and I was left alone with Emmett who came to stand next to me in front of the painting.

"Carlisle has a lot of respect for them. I can't say I feel the same."

"Have you ever met them?"

"No, but I've heard stories about them and I have to say that doesn't really make me feel the need to meet them."

"Then how could you possibly know they don't deserve your respect?"

I found myself starting to get a little angry at him. After all I had respect for the Volturi or at least what they stood for. Making sure that no vampire ruins the peaceful existence of other vampires does sound like a respectable cause, does it not?

"You respect them?" He asked me, now fully turning his body towards me instead of the painting.

"Of course. They are the reason humans aren't aware of our existence and we can do as we please without actually harming humanity."

"You think they are protecting humanity? They eat humanity!"

"They feed of humans because it is in the nature of vampires. As do I."

Once again he seemed to be shocked when I mentioned what I like on my menu. It is as if he constantly keeps forgetting that I'm not a vegetarian vampire like the members of his coven.

"You've never really tried to feed of animals before," He stated.

"Of course not," I scoffed.

"Then how do you know that's not in your nature?" He teased me but I definitely didn't appreciate it.

"Because I'm a vampire and vampires feed of humans, not bunnies," I snapped.

"So if I understand you're just too much of a coward to even try animal blood?"

"I know what you're trying to do but not even anger can make me try that blood. Now if you excuse me, I'm hungry and I believe I saw a very tasty looking man the other day," I grinned before leaving the room and the house.

I had only been running for a few minutes when suddenly Emmett showed up next to me again. What was he doing here? If he thought he could stop me from hunting, he was going to be sorely disappointed.

"How about I make you a deal?"

"I don't think you have anything interesting to offer me," I sneered.

"I'll join you on your hunting trip and you'll join me."

"Do you honestly expect me to go hunting squirrels with you?!"

"All you have to do is watch. You don't have to feed as well, I won't feed of a human either. Just watching."

I can't believe I am actually considering this but it could be interesting to see if he would actually be able to resist human blood when there's a human bleeding out in front of him.

"How do I know you won't steal my prey from me?"

"I can restrain myself."

But he didn't sound so sure of himself and that is exactly what made this deal interesting to me. I wanted to see if he really was able to restrain himself once he would be faced with the source he's been depriving himself of.

"Alright."

His face immediately lit up with a sincere wide smile which somehow was strange on a vampire but sort of went well with this one.

"Wonderful. Now where are we heading?"

I don't know what the rest of his coven would think if they knew about the deal I made with Emmett, especially since Carlisle just told me he thought I was much more civilised than other vampires and that I actually seemed to respect their diet. Taking one of them on a hunting trip for humans doesn't sound very respectful but he had offered to do so himself.

I took him with me three towns further where I decided to attack the young man who had been walking through the forest with his dog.

"Look, there's a snack for you as well," I grinned at Emmett who sat next to me in the tree above the man and his pet.

"I prefer bigger animals," He told me.

He didn't look so confident anymore that this had been a good deal to make. He seemed to be feeling almost a little guilty.

"Are you backing out?" I teased.

"No, I just have one question before you... go. Don't you ever feel guilty about taking a human's life?"

I used to. My very first kill made me feel like the monster I believed or maybe still believe I am. But guilt was never strong enough to win it from my thirst and survival instinct. And after many years of draining all those bodies, the guilt became absent.

"No," I told him before I jumped down right on top of the human and sank my teeth into his neck, quickly ending his desperate screams.

While I was drinking from the man's blood, Emmett had jumped out of the tree as well. He kept a distance from me and the human because he seemed to be struggling with the scent of blood. I could have just drained the man instantly and that way there would no longer be any blood left to tempt him with. But I had made this deal to test him and test him I would. I pulled my teeth back and dragged the man's limp body closer to where Emmett was standing.

"Would you like a sip as well? I don't mind sharing," I asked him exposing the man's bleeding neck to him.

Emmett didn't take a step back but he flinched once the scent hit him strongly in the face. He grimaced but never once did it seem like he was going to drink from the man. He seemed to have more self-control than I gave him credit for.

"No, thank you," He said uncomfortably.

"Are you sure?" I teased him a little more.

He nodded and I resumed feeding of the man. Somewhere between me returning my attention to my meal and finishing it, the look on Emmett's face had changed. Before he had looked uncomfortable and nervous about being so close to human blood but now he almost looked fascinated at me and my prey. I just wasn't sure to which one his fascination was directed at.

When I looked into his eyes after I had completely emptied the man's veins and threw him away, I saw something there I hadn't expected to see. There was a hunger in his eyes that I didn't understand. There was no blood left. Then why did he still have that look of a predator on his face?

"Emmett?" I asked him.

"Yes?" He snapped out of whatever trance he had been in.

"You did much better than I expected," I told him.

"Did I pass your little test?" He smiled softly.

"No, since you didn't drink from the human."

I was disappointed. I had wanted him to snap and drink human blood. I had wanted him to prove to me that I was right to think of their diet as an act against our nature. But if it was in his nature to drink human blood, then why didn't he do it?

"I'm sorry I failed your little experiment."

"No, you're not," I gave him a small smile which he surprisingly did not return. "So what will we be hunting now? Deers? Bunnies? Or do you prefer rats?"

"We'll do that some other time," He told me before taking off at high speed.

Normally I wouldn't mind being able to spend some time on my own but I don't understand why he took off so fast as if I had just insulted him in the most brutal way. I don't think I did something wrong. Did I?

I stayed in that forest for quite some time, feeding of another passer-by. For some unknown reason I felt bad about the way I parted with Emmett. There was this weight on my chest that made it uncomfortable to breathe even though technically I didn't have to since I'm a vampire. I didn't understand why I felt so bad about it. Even if I had insulted him, such a thing never would have affected me as greatly as this did and I didn't even know what this was.

On my way back to the Cullen house I was thinking of the possible reason that I could have upset Emmett. Maybe seeing me feed had affected him more than I thought it did and he was now mad at me because I tried to tempt him with human blood in the first place.

"That's not the reason," A voice interrupted my train of thought.

I was actually caught by surprise by Edward. I had been in such deep thought that I had not heard or smelled him approaching me. That might be even more worrisome than the fact that Emmett took off in that strange way.

"Why? You've never been caught off guard?" He smiled.

"I haven't," I told him honestly.

I might have been unprepared sometimes when another vampire would approach me but I always heard them coming. Last time I checked, Edward did not have the ability to sneak up on people so I couldn't really blame it on that. This was turning out to be an awful day, if you even counted in days. First Emmett won't leave me alone, then he doesn't snap when confronted with human blood and now I've been caught off guard.

"Did that disappoint you? The fact that Emmett stayed in control of his thirst?"

"No!" I snapped but since the vampire can read my mind, there wasn't much use in denying that.

"Would it have made you feel better if he did drink from the human?"

I don't think it would have. I wanted to be proven right, yes, but I also didn't want to be the one responsible for Emmett's family hating him.

"We wouldn't hate him just because he made a mistake," Edward told me.

"But doesn't that go in against everything you've been preaching to me?" I asked him.

"Yes, but Emmett is my brother and if he slipped up, he would be forgiven for it. He'd still want to follow this diet even if he tastes human blood again."

This coven makes less and less sense to me with every passing day.

"So you've promised to try our diet?" He smiled.

"No, I didn't. I said I'd watch Emmett hunt his prey. I said nothing about actually trying it for myself."

He seemed a little disappointed that I am still not willing to try it myself. Why was everyone in this coven so set on making me devour Bambi? He smiled a little. It still annoys me that he can read my every thought without even having to try. I'm sure his gift must come in handy quite a lot of times.

"It does. You might be surprised by what an advantage I have knowing what any opponent is thinking about," He grinned slightly.

"It's cheating! If he would give me an honest chance, I'd be able to beat him in a fight," Emmett's booming voice came out of the house that we were approaching fast now.

"Who says you would? You're not exactly skilled in the fighting department," I teased him.

I heard a gasp and suddenly he was standing outside of the Cullens' house. The strange look on his face was gone and he was once again looking like the playful vampire he is. I was glad to see I hadn't upset him all that much even though I'd still like to know the reason he suddenly started acting so strange.

"You think I wouldn't be able to beat Edward if he played fair?! You do know I'm stronger than most vampires, right?" he scoffed playfully.

"There is a big difference between being strong and having fighting skills," I smiled slightly.

He seemed a little taken aback by my almost teasing demeanour. I guess that is not much of a surprise, I have been a very serious person ever since we've gotten here. That doesn't mean I can't tease other people.

"And you do?" He laughed.

"I may not have your strength but I'm a very skilled fighter."

"So now you're saying I wouldn't be able to beat you either?"

"I'm undefeatable, remember?" I smiled when I passed him, entering the house.

"Undefeatable? No one has ever beaten you, ever?"

I thought about it for a moment. The training I've gotten from Santiago is mainly the reason I'm undefeatable now and because over time I learned how to apply my gift in battle. Before that, did I lose a fight?

"My creator used to be able to beat me but that was only because I hadn't developed my skills to their full potential yet," I told Emmett.

"Well, maybe I haven't developed mine to the fullest yet either."

"If you haven't done that by now, you never will," I grinned.

When I entered their living room I was surprised to see Tyria and Penelope there. They were wearing that pissed off expression again.

"Laurence, we'd like to talk to you," Tyria said to me and I reluctantly followed them outside, far enough so the Cullens wouldn't hear what the two of them had to say.

"We figured out why you want to stay longer," Penelope grinned wickedly.

I had already told them I wanted to stay because they were fascinating. Then why were they claiming to have found out the reason?

"You have the hots for Edward," Penelope laughed.

"What?"

That is probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. And what kind of stupid expression is 'having the hots for someone' anyway?!

"You want to stay with the Cullens because you are attracted to one of them," Tyria interfered.

"You two are starting to talk nonsense," I smiled annoyed.

"Oh please, why else would you want to stay with those sad excuses for vampires? Unless you like one of them!" Penelope shrieked.

Honestly, I kind of liked all of them. But none in the romantic way they were implying. The idea of me liking anyone in that way was almost laughable.

"Don't be ridiculous. I don't and never will like someone romantically. Least of all one of them," I laughed.

I might have thrown in that last part to get the smile on both their faces but if I'm completely honest with myself, I don't know if that's the truth. I'm not saying I like one of them in that way but I had met so many vampires in my existence that I can honestly say that I like the fact they are such a tight community. If for whatever the reason might be, I change my mind about the whole mate thing, maybe I would want someone like them.


	8. It is meaningless to me

**I love it that you're such loyal reviewers. That's really great! Thank you!**

** Lorem tenebrae : **_Well, I can't just tell you why Emmett ran off like that but I think we'll get a little more insight in what Emmett thinks in this chapter :p_

** Luli Cullen : **_Thanks. I hope you like this one as well._

** xxxRena : **_All very good questions and I think some of them will be answered in this chapter. Hopefully you like it._

** kate x wolfe : **_Haha, I don't know if Laurence would / will crack easily :D Thanks for reviewing. _

** Guest : **_Well, I don't know what the best way to go would be :p, though I agree that being devoured by a vampire isn't really a good one. Don't know if being hit by a blimp is much better though… I'm glad you like the portrayal of Emmett in my story. I didn't want to ruin the essence of his personality in the books. Thanks for reading and telling me what you've thought of it so far._

** Ellefaine : **_Yeah, Penelope and Tyria aren't very likeable. Emmett on the other hand is and I really like writing scenes with him and Laurence. Let me know what you think of these. _

** The Red Crayon : **_Wow, you like and love a lot of things :) That's really great to hear. Thanks. _

** OneDayIllRemember : **_I'm glad you're liking the story. I hope you'll continue to do so. _

**Chapter 8**

Tyria and Penelope eventually gave up their preposterous idea after I kept repeating that they had it all wrong. Strangely enough Penelope seemed disappointed by it. I think the eternal teenager in her was dying for a little gossip.

I had to keep up my bargain of the deal I had made with Emmett so I was going hunting on animals instead of humans. I had been hoping he had forgotten about it after the way we had parted but no such luck. Though a lot of time passed since I took him hunting with me.

"Ready to see what a real hunter looks like?" Emmett grinned while we ran in the direction of the closest mountains.

"A real hunter?" I cocked my eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's way harder hunting a bear or lion than a human. Humans aren't that though."

I don't care if it's harder, it certainly couldn't be tastier and therefore I was still not interested in trying their strange life style.

Running to what was according to Emmett 'the best hunting place in the area', I smelled another vampire approaching us, as did Emmett. The scent was familiar and I recognised it as Edward's.

"You finally got her to come?" Edward popped up next to me and Emmett.

"Yes," Emmett smiled brightly and puffed out his chest as if he had just accomplished the impossible.

I just rolled my eyes.

"So what did Penelope and Tyria want the other day?" Emmett tried to play it cool but failed.

He was clearly curious about what had happened between the three of us since that had happened quite a while ago and he still kept it in mind.

"They had a ridiculous theory," I said.

"What was it?" He asked me eagerly and something in his mind must have been funny because Edward had gotten an amused look on his face.

"They are under the impression that I'm attracted to one of you."

Emmett's eyes got really big. See, he also thought the idea of me being attracted to anyone was ridiculous.

"Really? To who?" He asked me.

"Edward," I laughed.

Emmett had stopped running but I only figured that out when Edward stopped as well.

"Are you?"

"Am I what?" I asked him.

"Attracted to Edward?"

What?! No! Why would I be attracted to him?! Edward shot me an insulted look and I guess I made it sound like no one could possibly be attracted to him.

"That's not what I meant. I just meant I find it ridiculous that I would be attracted to you. Not that you are not attractive. You're a vampire, of course you're good looking."

But neither Emmett nor Edward started running again. I would be able to find the place myself but the whole point of coming was to see them hunt.

"Are we moving on?" I asked them annoyed.

"I'm going to head back. I'm not really hungry anyway," Edward told us while looking a little uncomfortable.

Edward took off and soon it was only me and Emmett left but he was once again acting a bit strange.

"Are we going?"

I was getting very annoyed and he must have noticed that because he started running again. I followed. Once we had gotten closer to the mountains, Emmett slowed down. Why?

"There's a bear nearby," He smiled, anxious with the prospect of having a meal soon.

"No sweet little deer?"

"There's not a lot to feed off with deers. I prefer bears, they're a little tougher as well and I have kind of a vendetta with them," He grinned.

"What do you mean?"

"I was changed because a bear had almost succeeded in killing me. It seems only fair that I hunt them a little more."

That was the first time I had heard any of them talk about their life before they were changed. I knew Rosalie didn't like being a vampire and found it very hard to talk or even think about her life as a human but it didn't seem to be such a sensitive topic for Emmett.

"When were you changed?"

I wasn't convinced it was appropriate to ask but I wanted to know. That I find strange as well since I'm usually not very curious in the past of any vampires I meet.

"Do you realise that is the first time you've asked me something personal, not related to my diet?" He smiled brightly like a human child on Christmas Eve.

"You don't have to answer me! I didn't really want to know anyway," I scoffed.

"1935," He smiled. "I am forever 20 years old. I was being mauled by a bear when Rosalie saved me and brought me to Carlisle. She said I reminded her of someone she knew when she was human."

"Were you mad at them for it?" I asked.

I had been angry at Archie at first but then the thirst took over and since he was the reason I had enough to feed off, my anger disappeared before I could do something with it. But I knew Rosalie had been very hostile toward Carlisle at first for changing her into a vampire.

"No, being a vampire ain't bad. I did feel guilty about leaving my family behind at the time since they had much needed the money I brought home but Edward left them a great sum of money when I asked him to."

I found myself staring at him in astonishment. Not a lot of vampires cared about their human families after they were turned, including me so his action sort of shocked me.

"You are strange," I sighed.

He really was and not only because of his strange diet. Everything about this man was so unlike every vampire I had ever met. It made me wonder if he was even a vampire at all.

"Is that a bad thing?" He asked me carefully, once again reminding me of a child.

"Not necessarily," I smiled.

He smiled back at me and I realised he really was something different.

"Now, watch and learn, Laurence," He grinned before sneaking up on a bear.

He reminded me of a cat the way he moved his muscles and slowly approached the clueless animal. He pounced on the bear with ease but the animal wasn't as easily defeated as a human. The bear tried to wiggle out of Emmett's grip but clearly didn't stand a chance. It still gave a loud roar when Emmett sank his teeth into it but that quickly died down when all the blood was drained from it.

I found myself incredibly fascinated by Emmett in that moment. I had seen people feed before but it was never as captivating as it was right now. I could pretend it had something to do with the bear but the truth is that it had everything to do with the vampire in front of me. Watching him hunt was exciting, fascinating and, dare I even think it, sensual. I could not tear my eyes of him and almost found myself wishing to join him. I wanted to drink animal blood? What was I thinking?!

"So, was it as disgusting as you thought it would be?" He smiled after he let go of the bear.

"No," I breathed out.

Emmett was looking at me in a way that would have made me blush if I were still human. Blush? I did not even blush when I was still human.

"Good enough to try it yourself?" He smiled at me hopefully.

I must be losing my mind because I almost nodded my head at him.

"No," I responded coldly and ran away.

"Where are you going?" He still asked but didn't went after me.

"Hunting."

I needed to hunt right now. There was this desire growing inside of me that I was not familiar with. I just hoped this sort of desire would go away once I was fed as well.

It didn't. I fed of three humans and there was still an aching in my chest and I couldn't understand what it meant. Maybe it meant the nomad in me wanted to get on the road again. We had been staying at the Cullen's house much longer than any of us had intended and I knew for sure that Tyria and Penelope would be very pleased to hear I wanted to leave as well. They just wouldn't know that I had no intention to stay any longer with them.

I couldn't just leave without saying goodbye to the Cullens. They had been so generous to let us stay in their house even though we didn't really need a place to stay. So I returned to the house, hoping I could tell Tyria first about my intent to leave this place and that I would not go the same way as her and Penelope. But when I got there, they were both out hunting. I figured I might try to find them but one of the Cullens present in the house stopped me.

"Laurence, sit down. I've been waiting for a chance to talk to you," Carlisle Cullen called me into their living room.

I sat down in front of him, feeling as though I was being reprimanded by Aro but I'm convinced Carlisle does not have a gift like Jane's to use as retribution.

"Jasper has been on edge lately because of your presence."

I almost huffed. Of course he was on edge. He is the only one smart enough to not trust an unknown vampire blindly, especially one with a gift great enough to slaughter their entire coven.

"And so far I've told him that he had no ground to feel that way. But there is something about your fighting skills that seem familiar to me."

My fighting skills? He hadn't even seen me fight yet with the exception of pulling Tyria and Rosalie apart.

"I knew I had already seen someone fight like that before, I just didn't know who."

Okay? I still had no idea where he was going with this.

"Then I remembered that you fight exactly like everyone in the Volturi guard does."

I hadn't seen that one coming. I had completely forgotten about the fact that Carlisle had already seen a resemblance between me and them before.

"You are from the guard, aren't you?"

I nodded. I might not be a permanent member of the guard anymore but my loyalty still lies with them.

"How come you are not in Volterra?"

"I asked them for permission to travel the world on my own, without the entire Volturi guard with me all the time."

"They let you go? I've never heard of someone with the wish to leave the Volturi and who was actually granted that wish," Carlisle said in shock.

That was true. Before me, there had only been one other vampire who had been allowed to leave the Volturi. That doesn't mean no one else ever felt the need to leave, they were probably killed for even speaking the desire out loud. I don't know why me and the other vampire were the only ones who had gotten the permission but I guess it has to do with the fact that my loyalty still lies with them and I would never use my gift against them. I'm guessing it is the same for this other vampire.

"Why did you not tell us this?"

"I did not know your opinion on the Volturi and did not feel the need to get your anger directed towards me."

"I told you that I used to live with them."

"Yes, and Emmett told me that he disliked them. The opinion on the Volturi is very divided in your own family. I did not feel the need to make matters tense."

"Unfortunately I am forced to ask you to leave," He said gravely.

I had already the intention to leave this place as soon as possible but to be forced to leave? It was just so... humiliating.

"Why?"

"You've hurt our trust. I've opened up my home to you and you failed to mention an important part of your history."

I felt an anger boiling inside of me. He wasn't upset that I hadn't spilled the beans over my entire history. He and his family just felt threatened because they finally realise that I could be dangerous for the coven. Out of respect for Carlisle, I didn't voice any of the hurtful comments I had formed in my mind. Maybe it is a good thing that Edward isn't here right now.

"I understand," I said through clenched teeth.

I did not understand at all. I felt insulted and pushed aside. If it was anyone else I would have let my anger overtake all rational thought and attacked him. But I did not want to hurt Carlisle Cullen, even if my almost non-existent feelings got hurt.

"Very well. Will you give my regards to the rest of your family?"

He nodded and I left the house, never to return again. When I had run for a while, I smelled Penelope and Tyria near. I had no intention to join them again but I could at least tell them that I wouldn't return to the Cullens' house. I'm sure they won't either. They had clearly been hunting for they both smelled like human blood.

"I'm leaving," I told them once I had reached them.

"Finally!" Penelope grinned but she didn't seem to have noticed that I had only spoken of myself.

"That's good to hear. We'll be going South now," Tyria nodded.

"I don't think you understand. I am leaving on my own. I will no longer be joining you."

"What?!" Penelope spat and even though Tyria didn't say anything, I'm sure she was thinking the same in her mind, probably laced with a lethal amount of venom. "After all the time we've stayed here because you didn't wish to leave?"

"I am not a part of your coven. I am a free vampire with no obligations to anyone. If I want to leave, I can. I've made that very clear when we first met."

Penelope snarled at me and even though she must have felt the need to attack me, she didn't. Even if she had tried to, I knew Tyria would have stopped her. When Penelope finally stopped with all the hissing and snarling, Tyria looked at me.

"Next time we cross paths, we won't be civil," She said before taking off with Penelope.

I do hope I won't meet them again, ever.

"Where will you go?" Emmett's voice came up behind me.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," I replied coldly.

"Don't be like that."

He sounded almost hurt by the tone of my voice. I turned around to see that he did not wear his usual smile on his face.

"You don't have to go, you know," He took a step towards me.

"Carlisle made himself very clear."

"I could talk to him. Once he realises that most of us aren't angry at you for not telling us the truth, he'll change his mind."

"Don't bother."

The last thing I'd do is beg for Carlisle to take back his decision. I don't need him to do that either. I would have left soon either way. I could visit South-America, I've never been there before or maybe look for Archie again. Archie would always stick to Europe. That definitely would make it easier for me to find him.

"Why not?"

"I was about to leave anyway. I don't like staying in the same place for too long."

"Where will you go?" He asked me again.

"I don't know yet. Why do you ask anyway?"

"So I'll know where to look for you when I want to visit you," He smiled.

He wanted to visit me? Why? I'm sure he knows vampires who are much better company to him than I have been. But the way he looked at me made it clear he really wanted to visit me, he really wanted to see me again. I still don't see why since I've hardly ever been pleasant around him but the fact that he wanted to anyway almost warmed my ice cold heart. Almost.

"I'd like that," I told him. "I just hope you've got good tracker senses since I move around a lot."

The smile that had reappeared on his face was gone again when I told him he'd have a very hard time finding me.

"Then don't go."

"Didn't you hear what I just said. Carlisle-"

"Forget about Carlisle. I don't want you to go."

I'm good at coming up with a sharp comment but for this one my mind went blank. He... wanted...me to stay? That's not something you ask any vampire. Was he...

"Don't you understand what I'm asking you?" He almost pleaded me with his golden eyes. "You are-"

"Stop!" I snapped. "Stop talking before you can't take back what you're about to say."

It was as if he didn't hear me or maybe he just didn't want to hear what I had to say. He pretended as if those words had not just left my mouth.

"I need you to stay here with me because you and I are-"

"No!" I shouted.

I knew exactly what he was about to say but I didn't want him to say it out loud. Once you say it out loud, there is no going back and I did not want the same thing as him.

"I know what you're going to say. Don't say it because I don't feel the same," I shouted at him.

"Of course you do. Being mated is-"

"No!" I growled once again.

I had charged right at him, pushing him with all my might against a nearby rock that trembled with our strength. My anger wavered a little when I stared right into his golden eyes who had never been so close before. The way he looked at me should have repulsed me, like the idea of a mate had always repulsed me. But the look of desperation and, dare I say, love could not make me feel repulsed by him. What was this vampire doing to me?

"You belong here, with me," He spoke softly.

"No, I don't. I don't belong to anyone," I hissed at him and then I took off.

Emmett still tried to follow me for a long time. It took a lot of miles to shake him off again. But with my gift it was easy to avoid him and soon he couldn't keep track with me anymore. I was once again on my own.

**So… what did you think?**


	9. They were in the past

**Wow, it's so great that every chapter has gotten so many wonderful reviews from you guys. Really makes me want to write more. Thanks. **

** ScornedxRose: **_I guess Emmett did get a little bit crushed in the previous chapter :( I hope you like this update._

** Lalina92: **_Well, since this story is written in Laurence POV we don't know what happened between Emmett and Carlisle after she left. But I think it's safe to say Emmett probably got angry with Carlisle for chasing her away._

** The Red Crayon: **_I'm glad you like the way Emmett told Laurence that they were mated. I especially didn't want it to be lovey dovey because there's no way that fits Laurence personality. Yep, I'm kind of glad Penelope and Tyria are gone as well. It's weird how you can learn to dislike a figment of your own imagination…_

** xxxRena: **_Yes indeed, poor Emmett. He probably did lash out at Carlisle over it but since this is in Laurence POV we don't know. I can't really tell you how long it will take for Lauren to realise, if she does realise she needs Emmett but do keep in mind that time passes differently for vampires than it does for humans. A year is almost like a week. _

** Chelsealolz3: **_I'm glad you like my writing and my main character's personality. I hope you'll continue to read and like this story._

** Luli Cullen: **_Thanks. Hopefully you'll like this chapter just as much._

** kate x wolfe: **_I think Carlisle knows that Emmett has certain feelings for Laurence but he doesn't know quite how deep they run. I don't think Emmett would have actually told anyone before he told Laurence. And I'd like to think Edward would respect his privacy enough to not announce his feelings to the entire family. Carlisle was trying to protect his coven from a vampire he saw as dangerous. But when afterwards, Emmett tells him he thinks Laurence is his mate, I'm sure he'll regret that decision. _

** On Roempsis: **_Jeez, you're going to make me blush with all the compliments :) Hmm, I hadn't thought about the possibility yet that she would return to the Volturi and then come back with Edward. Instead I went for another option which you can read all about in this chapter of course. _

** Ellefaine: **_I'm glad you liked the interactions. I specifically didn't want to make it too fangirly so the fact that you say it wasn't, makes me really happy. As for how and if she'll return to the Cullens, you'll just have to wait and read. _

**Chapter 9**

My plan at first had been to find Archie but the longer I thought about it, the less I felt the need to see him. Sure, I wanted to find him again one day but that didn't have to be now. I had also thought about going south but that's where Penelope and Tyria had been going. I'm not afraid of them but I was not in the mood to run into them. So that left out South-America and Europe since that's where Archie would be. I felt no need to see the other continents, Africa hardly held any appeal to me. I could just stay in the USA for a while I guess.

In Texas I came across a very interesting vampire named Ronald. He was a fairly newborn but thanks to the woman who had created him, he knew his way around in the vampire society. I had met him in the centre of a local town. I had just been strolling around a bit, not really in need of a meal when I smelled the scent of another vampire. I didn't see him at first but I was certain it was another vampire and that he had noticed my presence as well. Most vampires don't like running into others because you never know who might be a threat. This vampire however didn't seem to feel threatened in the slightest. He slowly approached me with a smile as if that was common courtesy for when you met another vampire.

"Good evening. Is there something I can do for you?" The vampire smiled.

I eyed him up to make sure he didn't have any hidden agenda, as if I'd be able to actually see it. I was still suspicious of him but his nice greeting threw me off guard.

"My name is Ronald, what's yours?"

"Laurence." I spoke eventually.

"Beautiful name. You seem hungry, can I get you anything?"

Get me anything? He was acting as if he was the waiter at some kind of bar. You can't actually get a fresh pint of blood in these bars.

"I'm fine." I responded shortly.

Now he looked confused, as if he had been absolutely convinced that I was in need of a meal.

"Then why are you here if you're not hungry?" He asked me.

"I'm travelling through."

He finally had the reaction most vampires do when they run into others. He looked incredibly uncomfortable and seemed to realise that I could be a possible threat. He kept looking around as if he expected another vampire to pop up and save him from me. I hadn't even done anything.

"Well," He swallowed "I'll leave you be then."

He He ran away at vampire speed since there were hardly any people in the streets. I wasn't going to let him get out of here so easily. He had thought I was here for a different reason and that was why he hadn't felt threatened by me. I wanted to know what that reason was.

He was very slow for a vampire but I knew he could talk his way out of everything. Which is why I was surprised he didn't just try to persuade me to leave him alone. I caught up with him really easily. I cornered him in an alley and pushed him gently against the wall. He didn't have to be afraid of me but it was really stupid of him to run from me.

"What do you want?" He hissed at me

"I just have a simple question for you. No need to be so hostile." I let go of him again and I was pleased to see he didn't try to run again.

"Well, what's the question?!" He snapped though he still seemed very much on edge because of my presence.

"What did you think I was here for?"

He seemed nervous as well, as if the Lord would throw lighting out of the sky and burn him to ashes if he spilled a secret. That won't happen. The Lord turned his back on creatures like us a long time ago.

"What if I don't answer?"

"I'm very good at ripping vampires apart." I smirked.

It did the trick. If he were human I'm sure he would have fainted at my feet. Now he just shivered slightly but I still noticed it. He was afraid of me but willing to let me in on his little secret as long as all of his limbs stay attached to his body. I would be okay with such a deal.

"Well?" I asked him once again.

"I thought you were hungry."

I already knew that. Else he wouldn't have asked me if he could fetch me something to eat.

"What if I had been?"

"I would have taken you somewhere to feed."

"Take me there." I commanded him.

"You're not hungry."

"But I am curious. So you either take me to that place or I might reconsider letting you keep your legs and head."

The vampire reluctantly motioned for me to follow him. He started leading me through a lot of small alleys when I picked up a scent. Blood and vampires, lots of vampires. I stopped in my tracks. The scent was overwhelming.

"You're not a newborn, are you?" The vampire asked me concerned.

"No." I hissed. "You are."

"I'm not allowed to bring newborns. They can't control themselves."

"Can you?"

"I have a lot of restrain and I'm the exception."

I didn't know about him being an exception but he was right about the restrain. I, the experienced vampire, had flinched at the scent of so much blood while he, the newborn, didn't seem fazed in the slightest.

"Where are we?" I asked him when he stopped in front of a door.

He didn't answer me, just opened the door and entered. When the door had opened, the scent of blood and so many other vampires hit me even harder than before. The source of it was right there. For a moment I hesitated. Had this been a smart move? I didn't know this vampire or the ones downstairs. I might be signing my own death by entering this place but I have faith in my own abilities and that this won't mean the end of me. So I willingly followed the vampire down the stairs.

It was quite the descend but eventually we stopped in front of another door. The vampire was about to open it when he turned back to me.

"You won't do anything stupid, right?" He looked at me.

"Excuse me?" I sneered.

"I just meant that you know how to behave around other vampires, right? You didn't spend your entire life shielded from civilisation?"

"No." I replied coldly.

I was insulted that the vampire thought I wouldn't know how to behave. Did I look like a savage?

He seemed pleased by my answer and pushed open the door. Just as I had expected the scent was much stronger down here though I hadn't expected the view. There were vampires crowding this place. It was only a small dungeon but there were at least fifteen vampires in this room. I had never seen so many vampires in the same place. Even the Volturi weren't that numerous and they were the exception. Vampires just don't like to be around a lot of other vampires, it's a known fact.

"What is this place?" I turned to Ronald who had been watching my reactions cautiously.

"It's a bar."

A bar? You mean, a pub. But why would vampires go to one? They don't exactly serve blood in most pubs and vampires aren't big fans of beer. Ronald pointed towards the end of the room. Vampires were holding these tubes and they were sucking on them.

"What are they doing?"

"They're drinking." He said like it was a ridiculous question to ask.

"Are you telling me there is blood in those tubes?"

I had smelled blood but my senses told me they came from behind the far wall, not from behind the bar.

"Yes, the tubes come from behind the wall, where we keep the humans."

"Keep the humans? Like a pet?"

"No, like live stock. The humans are chained in the back. The tubes run from their veins right to the bar. It's as fresh as can be."

I had never heard of such a thing. It seemed dangerous to have so many vampires sucking from a few tubes. What if they were really hungry and tried to get to the back? Just when that thought occurred to me, one of the vampires in the room actually attempted such a thing. He didn't seem content to wait in line for his turn and tried to get through the door leading to their 'live stock'. The vampire didn't get very far though. I hadn't even noticed the big vampire standing by the door. He snapped the other vampire in half like it was nothing.

"You have to follow the rules here." Ronald told me.

None of the other vampires in the room seemed too phased by one of them just dying in front of their eyes. They just continued sucking on their precious tubes. I still prefer hunting my prey instead of having them chained behind a bar. Don't they?

"Why come here to feed if you could just as easily hunt your own prey?" I asked Ronald.

"Because it's very hard to keep a low profile in this area. A few vampires dominate this place and they don't like sharing their humans. We made a deal with them."

Vampires who forbid others to hunt in their area? Sounds a lot like Voltui impersonators. Refusing to let other vampires hunt in your area is not really against a law but it's common courtesy to not keep all the humans to yourself.

"Would you like to try it?" He asked me while steering me to the bar.

"No, thank you. I prefer catching my prey myself." I replied coldly.

"You won't be able to catch anything without angering the other vampires."

"We'll see."

I noticed a vampire approaching Ronald and me. She was beautiful like every vampire but the way she moved made it clear that she knew exactly what effect she had on the other vampires in the room. The way Ronald stared at her made it clear to me he was no better than the others here.

"You are an unfamiliar face." She told me while seductively putting her arm on the young vampire in front of me.

The dark haired vampire with the smokey eyes was old. She lived and breathed the darkness of which we come from. She did overestimate herself. She was powerful but not as powerful as she'd like to think she is.

"My name is Laurence." I introduced myself to her.

"Laurence, are you hungry?" She gestured to the tubes as well.

"No, thank you."

"Ronald, could you give us a moment?" She told him without even properly looking at him.

The vampire left us alone though he seemed reluctant to do so. Like I would be foolish enough to attack the woman who clearly runs this place.

"That is quite the love sick puppy you have there." I referred to Ronald.

"He's suffering from an extreme case of being sired." She smiled.

I had heard of it. In some cases the new vampires were extremely loyal to their maker. It could get to the point that they'd kill themselves just to please their creator. I did feel a certain loyalty to Archie, even after everything that had happened but I was never like that. Poor Ronald because unless this woman decides to set him free from her grip, he will forever be her doormat.

"If you are not hungry, is there perhaps another reason for your presence?"

"I was just travelling through when I ran into Ronald. This... pub of yours certainly is interesting."

It was definitely her pub. The man guarding the door to the humans looked at her every few minutes to make sure no one had tried to attack her to get some more blood. Did he have a bad case of being sired as well?

"He should not have done that. You clearly fed recently and he should not just bring anyone into my place." She scowled as if she was a little girl who did not get what she wanted when in truth she was an aggravated woman. They are much more dangerous.

"I don't mean this place any harm."

"Then why are you still here?" She suddenly asked me, making it clear I was not wanted here.

"I find this place fascinating. I've never encountered such a place during me entire existence." I told her truthfully.

"It is one of a kind but you are not that old yet. I'd say a hundred years?"

"Give or take."

It was 1998 which means I was exactly 111 years old. Compared to Ronald I was old but compared to this vampire in front of me I was but a baby. I wonder how old she is. I'd give her at least 600 years but of course she didn't even come close to the age of the Volturi.

"I started this place so that I could help these vampires who aren't allowed to hunt in the area. But also because every single member that comes to feed here owes me something."

Now I understand why she wasn't pleased with my presence, because I didn't drank from her supply. That means I don't owe her anything, yet I still know about this place.

"Would my presence be less upsetting if I did drink from your tubes?" I challenged her to admit it.

"You're a smart vampire. For one who is only a hundred years old." She grinned.

"I will still not drink from these tubes;" I made it clear to her.

"Then I believe there is no longer a reason for you to be here." She nodded towards another vampire guarding the exit who made his way over to me.

"Understood, though you should know that the right corner of the wall hiding your 'stock' from hungry vampires is not as steady as you think it is. Let's hope no vampire gets the idea of ramming that part of the wall." I warned before I let the big vampire steer me outside.

"Wait." She stopped him.

He stepped away from me and she told him to go back to the door.

"How do you know that?" She asked me.

"Like you said, I'm a smart vampire." I grinned.

"You're gifted." She stated.

I nodded. There was no use in hiding my gift from this vampire. She means me no harm and I'm not ready to leave this place yet.

"How does it work?" She asked me, not hiding her eagerness very well.

"That's is precious information that I'd like to keep to myself. Let's just say I know things without having to do anything."

It appeared that the ice had been broken after that. She suddenly spoke freely around me. She told me her name was Farah, she was turned in 1256 by a vampire named Boris who she met in Russia where she lived as a human. She told me Boris wasn't much of a vampire. He wasn't powerful nor did he seek power. He was contempt in spending his eternity observing humans. She was not sired so after her newborn years, she left.

I in turn told her of my past and my creator. She found Archie fascinating and told me she wanted to meet him. She seemed almost disappointed when I told her I hadn't seen him in over 80 years. I told her how I had been travelling with covens ever since. I thought it be wise not to tell her of the 55 years I had spend with the Volturi. People tend to not like hearing that.

Farah had met a lot of vampires during her existence and I found it fascinating when she told me of some abilities she had come across. She had once known a vampire called Rae. According to Farah that vampire has the ability to reproduce a light so bright it could burn a vampire from the inside out. Now that is a scary gift. This Rae should be careful who she tells about her gift. If the Volturi ever hear of her, I have no doubt they'll want her. It sound just like a gift Aro would desire for his coven. I had been grateful for all the years I spend with them but I can imagine that not every vampire would join them out of their own free will.

Farah also told me about a vampire she had met once who she called a banshee. Because when she cried human and vampire ears hurt beyond believe. She said she had come across this vampire by accident and hoped to never see the woman again.

I had been with Farah for a few weeks when I asked her about a vampire I hadn't thought about in such a long time. I hadn't even meant to say the name, it just happened.

"Have you ever met a Cullen?"

The moment I said that name I realised that the coven I had left behind almost a year ago was strangely still on my mind.

"What is a Cullen?" Farah asked me.

"It's.. a coven."

"Never heard of them. Are they special?"

Yes, they are very special. Even in this bar where the strangest vampires come every day, I have not met anyone who strikes me the way they do, the way they did.

"Not really but I thought they might have been here." I shrugged it off.

They would find such a place repulsive, after all it goes in against everything they believe in. Chaining humans behind a wall to drain them and have vampires drink from them constantly until they die after a day or two while being very aware of what is going to happen to them. It sounds like Carlisle Cullen's worst nightmare.

But it was not Carlisle who was on my mind. Why was Emmett Cullen still in my head?


	10. Am I aimless?

**I love, love, love it when you review! Thank you so much for that :)**

**On Roempsis: **Thanks, I hope you'll find this chapter as sweet as the previous one ;)

**ScornedxRose: **Yep, pretty legit indeed Thanks.

**xxxRena: **You just wait and see when/if Laurence returns to the Cullens. I like it when people tell me what they think well happen.

**The Red Crayon: **Haha, you're right. It does have a certain True Blood feeling to the whole thing. Except there the people gave their blood just a tad more willingly. I miss Emmett too so maybe it won't be too long before he comes back in my chapters ;)

**Lalina92: **Yes, very weird place. If it really existed I don't think I'd go there.

**Luli Cullen: **_Thank you. Well, wait no longer because here's the next chapter. Hope you like it._

**Sarra'Ellen**_**: **__I'm pretty sure I'm not Stephenie Meyer. I double checked :p If I was, I would not have to worry about money for the rest of my life. That would be nice… I'm guessing counting isn't your forte since that was way more than one question :D I can tell you that at least one question will be answered in this chapter. And also, I do plan to include canon moments in this story and some characters you may or may not have mentioned. Yes, I have a schedule. (Good news, I'm guessing?) I update every two Mondays so after this chapter the next one will be updated the 25__th__ of March. I know that may seem like a long time but I prefer being someone who updates consistently instead of just publishing whenever I feel like it and make people wait for months on end. So I'm convinced this is the better way to go. Thanks for liking this story so far and I hope you'll continue to enjoy it. _

**Ellefaine: **_I think it's funny you point out that I write Edward as a likeable person because in another story I did write him a bit as a nosy douchebag. I just make him the way he fits in the story and in this one he needs to be a nice guy. He also feels like a totally different person depending on how I want to write him. Glad you're liking the story and hope to get other reviews from you in the future…_

**DishclothRioter: **_You're right, answering those questions would kind of kill the suspense. I can tell you that some canon events will occur but you'll just have to wait and see when we get there. As for the reunion with Emmett and the other Cullens… You won't need to be too patient anymore ;)_

**EmoImmortal: **_Well, here you go! Thanks for liking the story so much._

**Chapter 10**

From the beginning I had told Farah that I never stay in one place very long. She had expected me to leave a long time ago yet there was no ache within me to go off on my own again. But neither did I want to stay much longer at Farah's bar. I did not understand what I wanted.

Farah was an old vampire and had been changed in Russia. She did not like her creator and he had never been very concerned with her either. She woke up in the middle of the snowy landscape with no living or undead soul around for miles and only ran into her creator several days after she had transitioned. She has almost no memories of her human life and none whatsoever of the day she was killed. She used to be a part of another coven but she soon realised that the only true bond was that between a creator and their protégée. Unless you count the bond between mates as well. She didn't, and neither did I.

I had told her of all the different covens I had travelled with. In a way she reminded me of Aro with her interest for the gifted ones whose paths I had crossed. But her interest wasn't for the gifts some of them had. She had a large interest in their bonds as well. She told me that there was no other coven on this planet who was as close as hers because they did not create each other. I had to think of Carlisle Cullen. He had only created four members of his coven himself but the two that he hadn't, were not less included or more distant from the rest of the coven. There goes Farah's theory.

Farah's little coven counted four members beside her. She had created most of them and the ones she did were all sired. The oldest one had been with Farah for the past 550 years. His name was Ohm, he was the one who ripped apart the vampires who tried to get to the stock. The reason Farah trusted him with this job was because he had amazing self control, maybe even better than her. He was never tempted to drink from the humans himself, probably also because Farah made sure her coven was never thirsty. Ohm hardly ever spoke and never said a word to me in the few weeks I've been here.

The other vampire she had created was extremely loyal to her as well. His name was Cirion and he was the one who had been ordered to escort me out on the first night I was here. He was not as big or impressive as Ohm was but surprisingly enough he was stronger. He was changed 200 years ago, also by Farah. The reason there is such a time gap between Ohm and Cirion is because not every vampire Farah had created was sired. She never kept the ones who weren't. Who knows how many vampires she had already created.

The only other female of Farah's coven was named Anastasia. She was from Russia just as Farah had been. She was human when the coven crossed paths with her. None of the vampires were allowed to change a human themselves, Farah would not allow it. But Anastasia was Cirion's singer and driven by his desire to have her, he changed her. The bond with his mate broke the sire bond with Farah but he decided to stay with her anyway because even though he was no longer sired, he was still very loyal to her. Because they had spend already a century together, Farah let him and his mate stay in her coven. Farah doesn't trust Anastasia, I can tell. Probably because she's the only vampire in the coven not created by Farah.

Last but not least there was Ronald. He had the worst case of being sired like Farah had said but I also learned quite quickly that he was her favourite. He wasn't even three years old yet but he had amazing self control thanks to the way Farah always kept him around human blood. None of them had a gift yet they were a very strong coven. Because they hung together by their devotion for Farah, they were closer to each other than most covens. See, you don't need to be a vegetarian to bond deeply.

"Are you hungry?" Anastasia asked me in her thick accent she just didn't seem able to get rid of, offering me one of the tubes.

I shook my head. Farah was still trying to get me to drink from the tubes even though we had formed a sort of friendship. The entire time I've been here, I've always refused and went hunting myself, never once crossing the vampires Ronald spoke off. I was starting to think they didn't even exist and were just a story Farah had spread to make sure vampires would come to her.

Anastasia was a dull vampire in my opinion. I did not understand why Cirion was so captivated with her but sometimes I saw the woman through his eyes. When he was standing next to her, she would almost light up and she was much more pleasant company. I guess a mate can change you for the better sometimes.

"You do not like me." She spoke again.

"It's nothing personal." I told her in all honesty.

"Then what is it?" She asked me anyway, though she didn't seem to be all too interested in the answer.

"I do not understand why you are only pleasant company in Cirion's presence." I said.

A positive aspect about Anastasia is the fact that she is not as emotional as most vampires so my comment did not upset her. But that could also be because she is not very smart for a vampire.

"I feel better with him by my side." She played it off casually.

To need your mate to be pleasant company? It sounded terrible. She was so reliant on the other vampire and she didn't even seem to mind.

"You just do not like the concept of a mate." She stated.

She was right, I did not. In my experience it seems that a mate only weakens you. Also the strong and powerful vampires don't have mates, it's something for the weak ones. Just look at Archie and Farah. Both have been roaming the earth for many years and neither have taken a vampire as their mate. If they don't need one, neither do I.

"It weakens you." I tried not to sound too hostile towards the thing she admired.

"On the contrary, the love of another vampire makes you strong."

I find that hard to believe.

"I assume you have no mate?" She asked me.

"I..." I choked on my own sentence.

I have no mate. I had never said out loud that I belonged to someone or that someone belonged to me. Then why could I not say it? Why did my chest clench with the thought of telling her the truth?

"I..." I tried again but I just could not say it.

"You do?" She asked me in surprise.

I shook my head because for some unknown reason I just could not say the word 'no'.

"I think you do." She smiled. "Else you would have no problem denying it."

"That's impossible! I never declared anyone as my mate out loud."

"But that is just it. You might not have said it out loud but in there," She pointed at my chest. "You declared someone as your other half."

"I have not." I hissed at her.

"Really? So when you close your eyes there is nobody's face you see? There is not a person who is constantly on your mind and to who your undead heart wishes to go to?"

I hate to admit it, I hate to even think Anastasia was right about something, let alone this. But she was and he is. In the past few months I have not been able to keep him permanently out of my head. Why won't Emmett Cullen release me from his grip?

"You should go to him." She smiled. "I've met a lot of mated vampires before and no matter how they handled it, in the end it becomes unbearable to be away from your mate."

Go to him? I could not do such a thing. I had left, never to return again. Who says he wants me to anyway? I was rather cruel to him the last time we saw each other.

"I cannot do such a thing." I told her.

"Why not?"

"I told him I belong to no one."

"But you do, you belong to him. Just remember that he belongs just as much to you."

He belongs to me? Mine? The idea of me belonging to someone does not sound appealing to me but him belonging to me did. A person who was all mine.

"Just go." Anastasia said.

She did not need to tell me twice. Before she had stopped talking I was already outside, running in the direction of Canada. That's where the Cullens were last time but I know they move around a lot. I just pray they were still there. I could make it there in four days, that should give me enough time to figure out what I will say to him once we meet again

They were still there. I smelled them from miles away. I had come through the mountains Emmett told me he loved to hunt and his scent was still there. He must have passed here recently. His scent was enough to make me realise I had not made a mistake by coming here. I cannot believe I am about to think this but I had actually missed his scent. It felt like... I belonged.

I stopped. They were still miles away and there is no way they could hear or smell me coming. I needed a moment to think this through. There is a chance that Emmett and the other Cullens will sent me away. I should prepare myself for that. Would I be alright with that? Would I go peacefully if they asked me to? I don't know and I did not come here to make a scene. Before I go to the Cullens, I need to prepare myself for rejection.

I must have stood there for a long time because the sun rose and it went down again. In the darkness I couldn't make out the presence of any other being until a deer jumped right in front of me. It looked frightened and once it recognised what I was, it couldn't get away from me fast enough. That's interesting. Why was the deer afraid of me? I don't eat animals. But someone does. A Cullen must be nearby.

I started running again in the direction the deer came from. This is perfect. I'll just have to go talk to whoever it is and hope he or she will invite me back to their coven. This is at least a better approach than showing up at their house uninvited.

I had hoped it was Edward who was hunting nearby. He would see in my mind that I had no bad intentions and that he could trust me. The worst case scenario was if it was Jasper. He might attack me. But it was neither of them who I smelled nearby. The scent was Emmett's. It seems like I'll find out soon enough whether or not he'll reject me.

I approached him slowly as not to provoke him. He was standing in a meadow, sucking on a bear's body. It was a large meadow so he didn't immediately smell my presence from the other side, he just kept feeding. He looked the same as I remembered with his cropped black hair and his large muscles moving beneath his granite skin. Why was I staring at him as if I'd never seen a vampire before? He was not that mesmerising.

The inevitable happened and my scent eventually reached his nose. He must have recognised it because he immediately dropped his prey and snapped his head up in my direction.

All the things I had wanted to say to him, disappeared once my blood red eyes met his golden ones. His expression was blank. For a vampire who was so easy to read, he was actually giving me a hard time trying to figure out what he was thinking now.

"Hi." I simply said but it did wonders.

The expression on his features finally changed and he seemed happy that I was here. Good, that makes this so much easier.

"So, what are the rules of being with you?" I tried to act lightly but his answer was of the utmost importance.

"Well," His beautiful voice reached my ears. "First of all you'll have to change your name to Hale."

Laurence Hale. It sounded weird. I haven't had a last name for over a hundred years. I don't even remember what my last name used to be when I was still human. Hale could be my last name, after all humans would have to believe that I was related to the Cullens if I wanted me and Emmett to be together.

"I can do that." I smiled softly.

"Secondly, you'll have to become a vegetarian vampire." He said, still rooted at the spot.

I frowned. I had expected this but somehow I had hoped he wouldn't expect such a thing from me. Sucking the life out of bears or deers didn't sound appealing in the slightest. I'd much rather keep feeding of human blood but this was one of the conditions of me staying with Emmett. And I wanted to stay with him. I couldn't promise him that I would be able to stay with this diet but I could promise him to at least try and give it all I had.

"What else?"

"You can never ever leave me again."

I smiled at him. That would be the easy part. He crossed the meadow as fast as possible for a vampire and crushed his lips against mine. This was strange. I didn't know how to respond at first. I had never kissed someone before, not during my human life and definitely not during my vampire existence. But it wasn't unpleasant. I rather like having him so close to me. And whether I have experience in this area or not, I am still a vampire and we are very sexual and sensual creatures. Following Emmett in the heated kiss was like a second nature. It was raw and animalistic as I should have expected. There was a lot of tugging on clothes and hair. Emmett pushed me against a nearby rock and almost crushed my body with his. I had to fight the urge to hiss at him when he ultimately pulled away.

"Why didn't you come back sooner?"

His tone wasn't hurt but his eyes were. He had missed me. I'm sure I should feel guilty that me running away had hurt him but I was just too ecstatic over him missing me. No one has ever cared that much about me.

"You didn't come after me either."

Him running after me for an hour while I tried to get away does not count.

"You told me I wouldn't be able to find you. Alice kept an eye on you though. She followed your decisions."

"Didn't she see that I decided to come back?" I frowned.

She must have seen me decide that five days ago if she had been keeping an eye out for me.

"She didn't say anything but this might explain why she's been smiling secretly these past few days." He smiled.

He was still keeping his arms firmly wrapped around my body, as if he was afraid I would suddenly try to run again. If I really wanted to, I could. He might be strong but he has no idea how many weak points he has. We'll have to work on that.

"But why did you change your mind? You were pretty firm about it before you left. You said you belonged to no one."

Clearly he had given my words just as much thought as I had.

"I didn't know..." I started. "That I felt the way you said I did. Until I met someone who told me I had found my mate without even realising it."

It is true. If it wasn't for Anastasia being so bloody annoying, I might have never realised what I truly felt. Now that I had, it seems almost surreal that I didn't know.

"Mate." He repeated.

It was the first time I had said it to him, it was the first time I said it out loud and it didn't feel as strange and unnatural as I thought it would. He seemed to be tasting the words on his lips as if trying to memorise them.

"Mate." I nodded.

He really was. He smiled at me, that bright smile that did not belong on any vampire's face but with him, it was just right. The way it should be.

He started to lean down again and I was almost desperate to feel his lips on mine again. I just didn't want to seem it thus I waited until he would have leant down far enough. But suddenly he pulled away again and looked at me with a question in his eyes.

"And you're not leaving again?"

"Did I not just tell you that?" I sighed, annoyed that he had postponed the moment.

But my answer didn't seem to be what he had wanted to hear for he was still not kissing me. I believe he wants to hear me say it, loud and clear. Possibly for future references.

"I am not going anywhere. As long as you want me."

That was the right answer. He continued to ravish my mouth while I did the same to his. The touching and the tugging got fiercer than before and we ultimately claimed each other as our mate.

**So? Did you like their little reunion? I hope it wasn't too sappy because that would just be totally wrong for Laurence's character. **


	11. It is a coven family

**I'm so glad you reviewed the last chapter. Thanks so much for that and I hope you'll be equally satisfied with this chapter.**

** Sammigirl23 : **_I'm glad you like Laurence and the fact that she's not easily persuaded :)_

** Evenfishcry : **_I'm a little confused as to why you thought she was going to end up with Edward? I thought it was pretty clear she and Emmett were the couple in my fanfic…_

** ScornedxRose : **_Yep, they are. And let's just say Laurence isn't actually too happy about having to be a vegetarian vampire._

** xxRena : **_Yeah, that's one of my favourites as well. And indeed, the real relationship only start now so I hope you'll like the next Laurence / Emmett scenes._

** Lalina92 : **_Finally indeed though I could still have drawn it out longer_

** Ellefaine : **_Well, yes there is of course still the fact that Carlisle didn't really wish to see her again. I hope you'll like the directions I'm taking._

** may : **_Thanks, I'm glad you liked it._

** Luli Cullen : **_I'm glad you liked the previous chapter and I hope you'll feel the same about this one. _

**Chapter 11**

After thoroughly bonding with my newfound mate, we stayed on the forest floor. I like to think that there is no romantic fibre in this body but I surprisingly enough found it very nice to lie in his arms. And even though I have nothing to fear, he made me feel ridiculously safe.

"The others will start wondering where I'm staying." He eventually spoke.

"Why?"

He had been hunting when I came across his scent. Why would they wonder where he was staying if he had been hunting? It wouldn't be that strange to not see him around the house for an hour.

"Because we've been here for five hours and I had already been hunting for one."

What?! That is not possible. He saw the surprised look on my face and laughed.

"Vampires have much more stamina then humans, Laurence."

I was very grateful that I no longer had the ability to blush. Did we just have sex for five hours? I had no idea vampire stamina was that great!

"We're forgetting one thing, Emmett."

"What's that?"

"Carlisle told me I was no longer welcome in his house." I told him when I stood up to go retrieve my dress.

Emmett got back on his feet and stood in front of me.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that Carlisle won't be happy to see me again and the rest of your coven won't either. Maybe you should go ahead and give them some kind of warning."

"No."

"What?"

"If I go to the house and then come back for you, you'll be gone."

"Seems like somebody has some trust issues." I muttered but since he's a vampire as well, he heard it.

"I do not have trust issues, I just know you well enough."

As much as I hate to admit it, he had a point. Who's to say I won't suddenly have some sort of panic attack while he's gone and bolt? I could not be so sure that it wouldn't happen.

"Then now what?" I crossed my arms in front of my bare chest.

"We just go back to the house. Alice will see us coming anyway."

He did have a point there as well. She had apparently seen me coming as soon as I made the decision to return to Emmett. I nodded and picked up my dress. There was one little problem though. In the heat of the moment Emmett had torn my dress completely to shreds. There was hardly any fabric left to put on. I could see he had the same problem with his trousers and shirt.

"You can make a naked second impression." He grinned, clearly enjoying this.

"I'm sure you'd love that." I growled slightly, trying to hide the small smile creeping up on my face.

"I would."

I rolled my eyes.

"Isn't there a store or something nearby?" I asked him.

"Well yes, but do I look like I have some cash on me?"

"You're a vampire, you don't need money."

"I'm a vampire, Laurence, not a thief."

Oh God, why did I have to find my mate in one of the only vampires on this fucking planet with morals?!

"You can just leave them some money afterwards. Right now, I need clothes."

He reluctantly agreed to go to a nearby store and take clothes from there. Since we're fast as lighting we could just go running through the streets naked. The humans could not see us anyway. It was already late which meant that all the stores were closed. Remember the good old days when you could just walk in houses and buildings without being caught? Now they all have cameras by the door and alarms. It's making vampiric life style harder than it needs to be. I could just feel Emmett's disapproving gaze on my back when I tore out the alarm system from the store.

In my walk down the pathways in the store, I threw some trousers and a shirt at Emmett. I was going to be a bit pickier in my choice for dressing.

"These are very expensive. If we're going to steal, can't we pick out the cheapest outfits?"

"No." I told him firmly. "You want to leave money afterwards anyway and I'm not putting on cheap fabric."

I am a snob when it comes to my wardrobe. He better get used to it. He eventually put on the outfit I had chosen for him and I do have to say, he looked delectable. I threw a vest at him as well.

"Put that on."

He looked great. Now I just needed an outfit of the same calibre. I wandered the store but hadn't found anything so far.

"What about this?" Emmett's voice called out to me.

He was holding a short simple black dress which hardly covered any cleavage. It would make me look like a prostitute and I think he knew it, judging by the huge grin plastered on his face.

"No." I told him once again.

If he really thought I was going to put such a thing on, he hasn't been paying much attention to my taste. Eventually I settled for a long flowing dark purple dress. I didn't like the form on top but it's the best I could find in the entire store.

"Let's go." I reluctantly told him when I was ready.

We ran the whole way back in silence. It didn't take a mind reader to know what both of us were thinking. Emmett was probably hoping to himself that his coven wouldn't make a huge deal out of me coming back while I was thinking of what to do if, when things got out of hand.

If I didn't remember the way to the house I had lived in for a few weeks, the scent was strong enough to follow it back. They were all present in the house and they probably all knew I was on my way. This might very well turn out to be a blood bath.

Emmett seemed surprisingly calm for someone who was about to throw his newfound mate to the figurative sharks. Vampires are much worse than sharks. Not that I couldn't beat them in battle but I couldn't beat them to like me. That's an almost scary thought.

"That might not be the right approach." Edward's voice called from inside.

If there is one thing I definitely didn't miss during my absence it was the mind reading abilities of the second oldest Cullen. It gets on my nerves.

When we finally entered the house, all the Cullens were in the living room. They all stood really tense even though none of them made an attempt to attack me. I can't say the blond one didn't look like he wanted to. With six pairs of golden eyes on me, I couldn't help but be a little intimidated. Who knew that I could ever be intimidated, let along by vegetarian vampires who were weaker than I was?

"Laurence, this is a surprise." Carlisle spoke tensely with a little glare directed to Alice.

Hadn't she told anyone? Maybe she should have then at least they would have had time to adjust to the idea.

"What exactly would that idea be?" The mind reader asked me.

Before I could even try and explain to them what had happened in the past hours, days or maybe even months (I have no idea when it actually happened), Emmett grabbed my hand and puffed out his chest like some kind of proud lion.

"Laurence is my mate."

I believe that explains it. None of them seemed too surprised by it but not all of them seemed pleased with the idea. The blond one, Jasper, seemed extremely displeased by it.

"Being Emmett's mate, means you will have to adjust to our diet." Carlisle eventually spoke.

I had secretly still hoped that it would not be a problem if I decided to stay a carnivorous vampire but I had not really expected that to be a possibility.

"It's hard, if not even impossible, to keep up with our diet if you are not behind it." Edward reminded me of what he had said to me when we first met.

I knew it would be hard. I can't even imagine going without human blood for over two weeks, let along for the rest of my existence. But as Carlisle already said, as did Emmett himself, if I wanted to be with Emmett, I'd have to switch to a diet that only consisted of animal blood. I had no idea if I would be able to keep up with this diet, especially without ever slipping up but I wanted to be with Emmett. I could at least try it.

"I know that, but I'd still like to try." I told them, maybe a little more directed towards Edward than the others.

"Very well. Welcome to the family then." Carlisle gave me a small but sincere smile.

Before I could stop her, Esme had pulled me into a hug and told me how she happy she was to gain a daughter. This was all going so fast. What happened to them not wanting me around?

"Things are different now." Edwards said to me.

Yes, things were very different. For one, I didn't even mind Emmett holding my hand in an almost possessive way. Had he tried this a week ago, I would have ripped his head off. And because he kept smiling the entire time, I was not angry over the fact that suddenly both Esme and Alice wanted to hug me.

"There are still a few questions you'll have to answer." Carlisle spoke up. "There are no secrets in this family."

Family. Would it be okay if I kept calling them my coven because I'm not quite ready to refer to Esme and Carlisle as my mummy and daddy.

"Of course." I told them when we all sat down in the living room.

I did not feel the need to hide things from them. Now that they knew I used to be a part of the Volturi guard, there wasn't anything left they could get upset over... I think. Jasper seems to get upset over everything that leaves my mouth.

"How long did you stay with the Volturi?"

I should have known they would have a lot of questions concerning the Volturi but as Carlisle had just said, they did not keep things from each other and I was now a part of their coven. That meant I should tell them everything there was to know about me.

"55 years."

"Why did you leave?"

"I didn't like feeling trapped in that castle."

"Are they as cruel as vampires say they are?" Esme asked me.

"You and I have a very different definition on what is cruel."

Yes, they killed people off in a blood bath for a sport and they took vampires' lives whenever they pleased but I never had a problem with that. I do realise that others and especially someone like Esme would consider them cruel. Compared to saint Carlisle, they were demons.

"Yes, to your definition they are cruel." I eventually said.

"Why did you stay with them anyway?" Rosalie asked me.

"It wasn't exactly my own choice."

"What do you mean?"

Rosalie seemed genuinely interested and I figured I should reward that with the truth, the complete truth. That begins with Archie.

"My creator, Archie, hunted in Volterra and, as I am sure you are aware, that is one of the highest crimes to commit. Needless to say, the Volturi weren't pleased with him. He begged for his life and promised them something in return if they spared his life. He knew of Aro's interest in gifts and told them about me."

"Your maker just gave you to the Volturi!?" Emmett growled angrily.

"Yes and believe me, I was very angry over it. But Chelsea has the gift to bind people to them and she made me want to belong with them. Eventually I wasn't that angry with Archie anymore."

"So you stayed because of Chelsea's gift." Jasper suddenly asked.

I would be glad to see a genuine interest from him but I knew very well that was not the reason he asked me this.

"Would it make you feel more at ease?" I grinned slightly at him.

I am certain it would. He wouldn't see me as such a big threat anymore if I had been forced to stay with the Volturi and had secretly always wished to accomplish world peace. But that's not the truth.

"No. I very much enjoyed being a part of the Volturi. Though it got a little boring after a while."

Jasper didn't like my answer. He would probably never warm up to me. That is okay and even understandable, I did not particularly care about his opinion on me.

"We were just going to hunt. Would you like to join us?" Carlisle asked me suddenly.

He was probably doing it to be nice but his question put me in a difficult position. I felt no need in the slightest to go hunt some kind of animal and drink their blood. I knew I would eventually have to force myself to drink it but for now, I'd like to postpone it.

"No, thank you. I'm not thirsty." I politely declined.

And when I said I wasn't thirsty, I really meant that I had fed on a human not that long ago. Since I knew I would probably no longer drink human blood, I had decided to go out with a bang. I had drained three young women completely and knowing that they would be the last, they tasted that much sweeter. The memory of it would be strong enough to keep resisting my hunting instincts for a while.

I could see that Edward had once again invaded my mind by the disapproving look on his face. He can't really be angry or upset over the fact that I had wanted to taste human blood one last time before depriving myself of it for eternity. I was making a very big sacrifice here.

As it turned out, everyone was going to hunt now. That left me all alone in this house. I might not like too many vampires around me but being alone isn't really any better. Fortunately Emmett 'sacrificed' himself to keep me company. The way he grinned at me when he said so gave me the idea he had something specific in mind.

I was right. As soon as the others were gone, he threw himself at me. We had just mated, and now he wanted to go again? Sure, vampires had amazing stamina but doesn't he want to do something else? I didn't. I was perfectly content feeling his strong body against mine. Before I could do anything else, he had whisked me in his arms and ran at vampire speed to his, our room in the house.

It would only be later that I find out about the overwhelming lust that all newly mated vampires experience. It will most likely consume us during our first years together. It's almost like a newborn phase except so much better.

We had locked ourselves up in the room for fifteen days when I could no longer resist the thirst that was burning in my throat. Emmett had left once or twice to hunt but I had refused to join him every time. I knew he was worried over the fact that I wasn't feeding but I just wanted to keep postponing drinking animal blood. Eventually I couldn't pretend anymore that I wasn't in pain and Emmett had enough.

"Me, Edward and Rosalie are going hunting. Will you join us?" He almost pleaded with me.

Normally I would have told him no but the thirst was making it almost unbearable to talk so I just nodded now. He seemed relieved that I had finally agreed to join him. As soon as I had, we found ourselves running through the forest with Edward and Rosalie in front of us.

"You must be really thirsty so we won't go too far." Edward told me.

That was fine with me. Even though I didn't want to drink animal blood, I was looking forward to finally be relieved from my agony. We ran for only three minutes when we came across a group of deer. I had kind of hoped to take down a bear as my first victim but since I'm starving, deer will do.

"Rosalie will show you how to hunt." Emmett told me.

Seriously? I didn't need some vampire almost 50 years younger than me to show me how to hunt, something I've done for over 100 years now. I almost sneered at her but it's not her fault Emmett thinks I need a tutor. So instead I watched how she snuck up on the deer – as if it could possibly outrun her if it saw her earlier – and how she sank her teeth in its neck. I was surprised to feel the need to do the same once the scent of blood reached my nose. Who knew I'd ever want to drink animal blood? In my defence I have been deprived of any blood for ten days now. I'd drink anything right now.

"Now you try." Edward said.

I wasn't going to sneak up on the deer like Rosalie had done. I just raced straight to the defenceless animal and sank my teeth in it right before I snapped its neck. I didn't realise that I had certain expectations about what animal blood would taste like until I was sorely disappointed. I thought animal blood might hold a certain resemblance to human blood and it would just taste like a bad human. This wasn't anything like it. I immediately dropped the dead animal on the floor once a few drops made their way down my throat.

"That is disgusting." I spat.

There is nothing that will ever make me drink something as foul as that again. I'd rather starve myself to death.

"It's not that bad." Emmett tried to change my mind.

"You must be kidding. It tastes as if someone peed on my tongue." I snapped.

"Well, deer isn't really a culinary delight. You should try a bear, or a lion. They taste much better." Emmett smiled at me.

"You are seriously delusional if you think I'll ever try animal blood again."

"But you have to." Emmett told me with big round eyes.

"I don't have to do anything." I almost hissed at him before taking off.

I do not want some awful taste in my mouth. I wanted a human meal and that is exactly what I am going to look for right now.


	12. This is torture

**Thanks for reviewing, alerting, faving and basically reading this story.**

** ScornedxRose : **_Yep, Laurence usually diet isn't going down without a fight :p I hope you'll find this chapter great as well._

** xxxRena : **_It will most definitely be hard for Laurence to adapt but I can't really tell you all the problems it will cause before it actually happens, now can I? :)_

** Luli Cullen : **_Thanks, please tell me what you thought of this one as well._

** Lady of Sign : **_Exactly! Laurence is a brat who is being denied her favourite candy and will have to live the rest of her life on Brussels sprouts. And with every brat comes a whole series of tantrums…_

** Ellefaine : **_I'm glad you're liking so far where this story is going. I have to admit that I myself don't always know where I'm heading with this._

** kate x wolfe : **_She does know that Emmett is more important but she'll need a lot of reminders though._

**Chapter 12**

I didn't get very far. Before I even reached the closest town, I was tackled to the ground by Edward. I had certainly heard him approach me but my thirst had blinded my common sense.

"What are you doing?!" I hissed at him once I had pushed him off me and gotten back on my feet.

"I was just going to ask you the same question."

He seemed angry for some kind of reason. I don't see why though. He had no reason to be upset with me. He liked drinking animal blood, I didn't. I was allowed to have another opinion.

"I don't really care for your opinion. You can hate animal blood as much as you want to as long as you keep drinking it.

Drink it? There is nothing in this world that would ever get me to taste animal blood again. Nothing.

"Not even Emmett?"

"He won't force me to drink it again."

"Maybe not but if you don't adapt to our diet, you can't be in this coven. Thus meaning you can't be with Emmett."

He was right. God, I hate it that he's right. If I want to be with Emmett, I have to drink the stupid animal blood.

"It's disgusting." I almost whined like a little child because I knew what I would have to do.

"You'll need some time to get used to it. None of us were naturals at drinking animal blood either."

"So it does go in again your natures." I grinned slightly, content that at least my theory about their diet had been right in the beginning.

"Of course it is. Our diet is not about instincts, it's about choices."

It wasn't a choice for me. I love Emmett and therefore I must have the same life style. I didn't exactly choose to become a vegetarian vampire. I remember Edward telling me that it was very hard to keep up this life style if you weren't absolutely convinced it was the right way to live. I wasn't.

"It will be harder on you because of it. But you do have a good motivation, wanting to do this for your mate. You might slip up more often than the others because of it."

"Have you all slipped up?" I asked him.

Edward had also told me once that if Emmett slipped up he wouldn't be rejected by his coven for his mistake. He would be forgiven for it as long as he still shared the same opinion on their diet. Had some of them already slipped up?

"We almost all have. It's very hard in the beginning and the first time you'll get back in contact with humans, you will most likely attack them."

That's encouraging.

"You should stop thinking about human blood all together. It only makes it harder."

It does. It reminds me only of the time I could get a meal whenever I wanted, a meal so wonderful my mouth waters with merely the thought of it. Compared to even just the memory, animal blood seemed extremely unappealing. Oh, I most certainly understand why I shouldn't think of it anymore.

"Shall we head back?"

I didn't want to return. Returning meant having that awful taste in my mouth again. But I'm sure by now Emmett might be thinking I'm not coming back and the thought of hurting him was enough to run back at full speed.

Emmett and Rosalie were still standing in the clearing where I had left them. Emmett's face lit up immediately when he saw me stepping out of the woods. I guess he had been worried I wouldn't come back and I would break the promise I made to him.

I would try the blood again, because I must, but I did not want Rosalie and Edward to be here for it. I knew they were present in case I'd go on a rampage and slaughter the entire population of the nearby town but this was already hard enough without the two of them watching my every move.

"Come on, Rose. Let's head back." Edward suddenly said.

I believe the mindreading does come in handy some times. They both headed back and I was left all alone in the clearing with Emmett.

"We don't have to hunt right now." He said.

"I cannot starve myself any longer." I shook my head. "A bear was better you said?"

Emmet led me a little further into the woods. Carefully of course since I'll go crazy with thirst the minute I smell a human miles away. Fortunately we didn't run into anything with an attractive pulse.

"There." Emmett pointed out a wild bear to me. "It's a lot harder than humans, a lot stronger too. This will put up a fight."

I threw caution into the wind. If I had to feed off the animal, I'd rather do it quickly. I approached the bear the way I had approached the deer earlier on, not very subtle. The bear noticed me faster than the deer had and actually clawed at my face. Had I been as fragile as the humans, I would have died immediately since he also would have hit my artery. Now it just pissed me off. I punched the bear in the face, rather hard and might have snapped a few bones in the process. That doesn't mean he didn't get the change to claw at the rest of me. Eventually he did stop moving and I was given the chance to drink his no longer flowing blood.

"You'll get better at it and maybe next time you'll be able to keep your clothes intact." Emmett smiled at me once I was done.

When I looked down I noticed that my skin was still perfect where the bear had clawed at me but my clothes were a little shredded. Something's telling me Emmett doesn't really mind.

"I liked this dress." I groaned.

"You'll get a new one."

He was right. The Cullens might not have the same budget as the Volturi did but they could still provide me my Oscar de la Renta dresses and everything else that comes with my expensive taste.

"It wasn't that bad, now was it?" Emmett asked me.

Honestly, it was but I couldn't tell him that. I would have to simply suck it up, something I'll be doing a lot when it comes to my menu for probably the rest of my existence. Unless Emmett suddenly has a change of taste, I don't think I'll be drinking human blood ever again so instead of telling him the truth, I just lied.

"I guess it wasn't that repulsive."

"After a while, it will even taste good to you." He smiled.

"Now you're just lying."

He laughed and suddenly stood very close to me again.

"Were you buying it?" He grinned at me when he pulled my face closer to his.

"Not for a second." I said before crashing my lips against his.

Kissing Emmett is like being on fire. There is all this passion burning in my veins and the only way I can relieve it just a little is by trying to completely devour him and being devoured by him in return. We quickly got carried away and at the end of there was absolutely nothing left of my dress.

"I cannot go back to the house like this." I told him afterwards.

"Why not? I happen to like this style." He grinned in his own cocky way.

I pinched his nipple, hard, to get my point across.

"Auw, fine. But you do know the others are aware that we go at it like bunnies."

"That doesn't mean they have to see me naked."

Emmett threw his partially intact shirt at me that fortunately was long enough to cover my behind. I put it on and waited for him to get dressed as well.

"Let's go." We ran off.

We jumped through our bedroom window and I quickly got changed into something more covering.

"I was wondering if maybe you could give me some training in fighting." Emmett suddenly said.

"What?" I smirked.

It seemed strange for Emmett to ask me such a thing. For such a childlike vampire, he is very proud. I thought it might hurt his male ego to ask me for help with anything. But I was the better fighter though.

"You could tell me what I need to work on since you said yourself I wasn't a good technical fighter."

"What do I get for it?" I asked him.

"Other than what I already give you?" He smirked.

"Yes."

"I'll teach you about the modern world, what humans like nowadays."

"Why would I want that?" I pulled a face in disgust.

"Because you'll have to know all those things when you go to school."

"When I go to what?!"

Of course I knew what school was, it is after all of all ages. But I did not have the intention to go back to it. I had finished my education during my human life. Why would I redo it?

"You have to go to school to keep up the pretences that we are a normal human family, we have to go to school like normal children."

"I already went to school over a hundred years ago. I don't see the point of going back." I huffed.

"The world has changed since you last went to school. You'll learn a lot of other things and what else would you do to fill your days with?"

"I can spend it with you." I grinned.

"No, you can't because I'll be going to school." He grinned back.

"You don't go to school."

I would have known if he did. For the past weeks he's been with me during every second unless he went hunting.

"Not now because it's the summer holidays but in a few weeks I'll have to go back. Senior year, baby."

"What about me then?" I huffed.

"You'll go too. Not immediately of course since you can't control yourself yet around humans but maybe next year you can go to college with me." He smiled.

"I am not happy about this."

Emmett made a point though. If I would have to pretend in front of humans that I was just like them, I'd have to know about the hypes of this era. He started by showing me his favourite part about today's society, something he called a television. It was a big black box with a sort of window in it but you couldn't see through it. There were images visible on the screen that moved. Humans are weird.

"And what is the use of it?" I frowned.

"You can see sports or like Rose, see a bunch of movies."

"Movies?"

"Yes, stories like in a book except it's on the television with moving pictures. It's fun."

This did not sound like fun to me. If I wanted to have a good time, I'd leave the house instead of lounging on a couch staring at the television, something Emmett does a lot according to Esme.

But Emmett was determined to make me like this television thing as much as he does. That is the reason I found myself sitting on the couch across the stupid invention while Emmett kept pushing on all kinds of buttons.

"Since you don't really strike me as a sports fan, I figured the best way to warm you up to this beauty," He pets the television affectionately. "Is by showing you 'Casablanca'. According to Rosalie it is the greatest movie in the world."

After almost two hours in front of the television and enduring what are probably the most agonising dialogues I've ever heard, white letters appear on a black background and Emmett gets up to push on another button.

"Well? What did you think?" He asks me excitedly.

"That... was awful."

"What? How can you not like watching a movie? Maybe it's the movie you don't like. You might be more of a 'Pride and Prejudice' kind of woman." He rummages through the collection underneath the television set again.

"Oh, no. You are not putting me through that again. Being tortured once was more than enough." I get up and leave him behind me.

Emmett still attempts to make me watch with him again but every time he pushes the button, I get out of the room. He'll soon understand that there is no way he will ever make me like the modern things.

A modern aspect that I can't avoid however is the cell phone. The Cullens use it to communicate with each over long distances and apparently I will have to have one as well. Emmett's explanation on the modern technology however isn't very clear to me.

"So then you put in the number-"

"What number?"

"Your cell phone number." He shrugs.

"How do I know my number? Am I a six or a nine?"

Emmett blinked at me and then started laughing, really loud. I get the feeling he's mocking me.

"Are you making fun of me?" I hiss.

"No," He says but he's still laughing. "You just don't get it. It's so easy and-"

"We're not all that eager to try to blend in with humans." I snap and leave him by himself in the room.

I wanted to leave the house but for now I'm still not allowed to go out without any one of the Cullens to accompany me. So instead I just settled for grumbling in the kitchen. Most of the others were out hunting so I was basically by myself.

"You're not adapting that well to today's world?" Carlisle asks me when he enters the house one minute later.

He must have heard the conversation between me and Emmett.

"I just don't understand why the humans insist on making life that complicated." I huff. "Remember the good old days when technology was just science fiction?"

Those were the days. Sure, I've only gotten in contact with this modern technology a few weeks ago, but I already hate it.

"We live in a world that is constantly changing. If we don't adept to it, we're-"

"-never-changing beings on who time has no grip? That is exactly what we are, Carlisle." I cut him off.

I heard Emmett coming down the stairs and he'd be here in a few seconds. I was still kind of angry with him for laughing at my inability to adept to this modern world. I didn't want to face him right now.

"Can we go hunt?" I asked Carlisle quickly.

The second he nodded, I ran out the back door, knowing he'd follow me. I didn't really want to go hunting. Going out to find something to eat used to be fun, it was exciting, exhilarating, not to mention delicious. But ever since I've changed my diet, hunting has become a chore, something I do not look forward to at all. I usually put it off till the last moment, when I'm almost dying from starvation. But right now it came in handy to avoid Emmett.

Carlisle and I went hunting for deer because apparently that's the most common animal around this part. A few less can go unnoticed. I share Emmet's special taste for bears though. There just a tad better than bambi. I've been meaning to try a mountain lion as well but apparently they're endangered species so we don't cross paths with one easily. And since it's Edward's favourite he usually calls dibs.

The deer was, as usually, awful. I'm still not warming up to this lifestyle and I'm afraid I never truly will. But so far I haven't slipped up once and that should count for something. Though I have to admit I haven't been around a human since the last time I fed on one.

"I think it's time for you to go into town." Carlisle suddenly said after hunting in silence for 40 minutes.

"What?" I turn to where he was sucking on a deer's vein.

"You have been following the diet the way we asked you to but maybe it's time to see how well you can suppress your instincts in the presence of humans."

In the presence of humans? They'll just look like blood bags on feet to me. Before I'll even catch their scent, I'll already have killed them all. It might not be such a good idea.

"You want me to kill a human? Because that's what will happen if I cross paths with one." I say.

"I believe that you'll be able to restrain yourself. "He smiles at me in this way that the others call parental. "And you'll have to do this at some point anyway. You can't just avoid humans for the rest of your life."

Of course I could. I'll gladly even proof it to him, if he'd let me. By the way, what kind of vampire says 'rest of your life'? I'm dead. There is no life, only my existence.

"We will be with you, of course."

"Fine." I give in. "But just know that I will kill someone when that happens and I will not feel guilty about it for one second. You might though and it will probably make following this diet even harder on me."

I still don't really care if I kill a human or not but I know it would mean a great deal to Carlisle's conscience.

"You will see. It will be fine." But I feel like Carlisle isn't so convinced about it anymore now.

I've killed humans for over a hundred years. Good luck with changing that delicious old habit.


	13. I am clearly not made for veggie style

**Thanks for all the reviews. I do have a confession to make though. When it comes to this story I've been suffering from a major writer's block, for a while now. I know what I want to write in the long run but I also need to let some time pass before I get to that. So if you have any nice scenes, ideas of conversations you would like to read about, I am very open to suggestions.**

** ScornedxRose : **_I'm glad you do understand why Laurence acts the way she does. But if she's annoying you by being a bit of a spoiled brat then I'm afraid I don't have such good news for you because her attitude isn't going to change in 1,2,3._

** xxxRena : **_Yes, Emmett is trying hard but in her own way Laurence is as well. And her natural instinct to feed on humans isn't going down without a fight so I'm afraid Laurence will still be a brat for a while when it comes to the diet._

** Luli Cullen : **_Thanks, I hope you'll also appreciate this one which is one of my favourites. And also thanks for being such a loyal reviewer._

** TinyButDangerous : **_Thanks :)_

** Ellefaine : **_Thanks. I always figured that would be hard for vampires: modern technology and all that. I'm glad you like the fact that she doesn't adapt that easily because that will still be an issue for a while. Honestly, I also want to see what I'll write about her going to school but I don't think she's ready for that yet. That would only turn into a massacre. _

** DishclothRioter : **_if I were a vampire I don't think I'd be as ruthless as Laurence (but how the hell would I know?) but I'd think my ideas would clash with Carlisle's as well. That's why I think you're right and a little debate between the two of them on what it means to be a vampire would be entertaining. _

**Chapter 13**

Before I even set foot in the house after my little hunting trip with Carlisle, Emmett was already standing in front of me.

"It's not nice to run away from me, you know." He crosses his arms in front of his chest.

He's pretending to be upset with me but I know he isn't. I, on the other hand, am still pretty pissed about what he said before I left the house.

"It's not nice to laugh at me either." I growl.

"Oh, come on. That didn't really upset you, did it?" He rolls his eyes.

Normally something like that wouldn't have upset me but when he was the one laughing at me, it did. Because he's my mate, my other half or whatever and if he laughs at me then who is on my side? It didn't feel nice at all to have him mocking me for my ignorance.

"It did?" He frowns.

I don't answer him but huff while trying to pass his big figure in the door way. But Emmett has already figured out rather quickly that huffing means 'yes' for me.

"I'm sorry I laughed." He puts his hand on me but I shrug it off and cross my arms angrily in front of my chest.

He sighs at my unwillingness to make apologising easy on him.

"Come on." He tries to pull me back towards the woods but I stay put and don't let him move me once centimetre.

"Why should I go with you?" I snap.

"Because I'm giving you the opportunity to mock me." He sighs.

A chance to laugh at him instead of the other way around? That sounds rather... promising. So even though I'm still angry at him for earlier I follow him into the woods. We don't go too far. Emmett stops in the middle of an open field close to the house. The others won't be able to hear us but they could easily track us down in a second.

"What are we doing?" I stare at him with an annoyed expression.

"I'm taking you up on your end of the deal. I showed you the basics of modern technology and now you'll show me how to be a better fighter." He explained before crouching down in a position to attack me.

"How is this an opportunity for me to mock you?" I frown without even bothering to get into a defensive stance. There is no way Emmett will ever get a scratch on me.

"You're the better fighter, Laurence." He sighs annoyed and I can tell he doesn't like admitting that. "I'm sure you'll find something to laugh at."

"Fine." I say and he immediately charges me.

I figured Emmett wasn't a very good fighter in skills but I had no idea he was this bad at it. The way he attacked me was the way a newborn vampire would. Straight towards the target without even thinking once about any form of tactics. Avoiding his miserable attempt to ram me was almost boringly easy.

I could have laughed at his terrible skills but I didn't see anything funny in it. If he was to go up against trained fighters, he had no chance in hell. He wouldn't even be able to win a fight from a newborn vampire with good instincts. And if I know my mate can't protect himself, I might as well declare myself as his babysitter because I'm not going anywhere until he knows how to fight properly. Didn't Jasper ever teach him?

"Please tell me that wasn't awful." He says.

"It was pathetic. Again!"

I made him repeat the action eight times and even though I told him where to improve he was still as bad at it as the first time.

"You're just not getting it!" I shouted out in frustration and I was starting to see what made him laugh at me earlier. Except that me not getting the whole mobile phone thing wasn't something that affected my survival chances.

"Can't we just call it quits?" He whined.

"No. Charge at me again." I sighed in frustration.

And once again he was too obvious about how he'd hit me. Instead of simply avoiding his attack like I had been doing before, I danced out of his reach but placed myself on his right side and threw my fist heavily against his ribs. He fell hard to the ground and seemed to even need a moment to regain his breath(?) and get back on his feet.

"What was that for?" He growled annoyed.

"If I actually wanted to hurt you, you'd be dead now." I growled back at him.

"But you didn't mean to hurt me...right?"

Of course I didn't but there were vampires out there who would and the fact that he wouldn't be able to defend himself properly and attack them before they could harm him, frightens me.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I've had it with this. I'm going hunting." He turned and ran in the direction of the hills.

Why was he not taking this seriously? I know he's a very laid back kind of vampire but we're talking about his life here. He might not want to make an effort to improve, but I was going to force him in defending himself better. I ran after him and caught up with him easily. Before he could even turn his head in my direction, I had smacked him hard on a nearby rock that trembled with the force I had used. If I want him to fight me, I shouldn't hold back.

"What the hell, Laurence?!" He hissed angrily at me.

"If you want to get something to eat, you'll have to go through me." I say standing in front of him, daring him to attack me.

"I'm not attacking you." He sighs annoyed.

"Oh, are you starving to death then?" I cock an eyebrow at him.

"No, you're just going to let me pass."

If he thought he was being surprising, he was sorely mistaken. He would lean on his right leg, right before kicking off the ground to jump at me. I easily avoided him and grabbed the back of his neck to smack his skull against the forest floor.

"I wonder what a vampire looks like after he dies of starvation." I say when I let go of him and he jumps back on his feet gracefully.

Maybe the key to getting him to take this seriously is pissing him off.

"You give a whole new meaning to the concept 'though love'." He growls.

"If you think I'm being though on you now, you're going to love it when I get really serious about this."

Once again he's not attacking me but just trying to get around me. I might be a better fighter but he's still stronger. That's his advantage and he's not using it.

I let him pass me and make him think he's somehow out bested me. I turn around right before he would get completely out of my reach and break his neck.

When you break the neck of a vampire, they don't die. That's only when you rip it off and set it on fire. But breaking your neck is about the most painful thing that can happen to a vampire, aside of getting your limbs ripped off. He'll be unconscious for a few minutes and when he'll come to it, he'll be angry, very angry. I'm counting on it.

I sit on the forest floor next to his still body for the next five minutes, wondering if maybe I'm being too though on him. But then I'm reminded of one of the first vampire I saw being executed. He had begged Aro to take his life because with his mate had died the will to live. I refuse to be that person, the one who would one day beg to be killed. I liked being a vampire. I was good at it, I was great at it. I could not see myself wishing to die, really die this time. But at the same time, I also couldn't imagine roaming this world the way I have always done without this vampire by my side. So if I want to stay a happy vampire, I need this one to stay alive.

Emmett groans and opens his eyes again. His eyes turn into angry slits when he sees me sitting next to him.

'That fucking hurt." He growls.

I'm disappointed to see he's not anywhere near as angry as he should be. But I'm also kind of relieved that my mate doesn't suddenly want to kill me.

"I know. That was the point."

"What is the point of all this, Laurence?" He sighs. "I just wanted some pointers and suddenly you're trying to actually kill me."

"I'm not trying to kill you. I'm trying to help you." I huff.

"Help me die?"

"No, help you survive! I'm actually baffled that with your survival instincts you didn't die the minute you were turned."

Then I also never would have met him.

"But I didn't. Still very much alive although that might change very soon if you keep going psycho on my ass."

"Do you know how many vampire there are in this world with special abilities?"

"I don't know. A lot?" He shrugs.

"Exactly! You don't know. I know there's a vampire who can burn you from the inside out somewhere out there. A vampire that can torture you. One that can cut off all of your senses. There are so many dangerous vampires. If you can't defend yourself against me, then how are you going to defend yourself against them? The ones who will try to kill you."

"Nobody is trying to kill me."

"Yet." I say.

I don't know why anyone would try to harm my Emmett but it's a real possibility. Just think about James, who hunts and kills vampires for fun. He is most certainly not the only one with such an odd hobby.

"Fine. If I give this training session a serious try, will you promise not to break my neck again?"

"I promise." I smile slightly at him.

"But if we are going to do this, I really need to go hunting first." He tries to persuade me.

I nod. He takes off really fast and I hope he'll return quickly. It isn't much fun for me to just sit on the forest floor, anxiously awaiting his return. Maybe I should have joined him, even though I just hunted with Carlisle. Four animals equals the strength and satisfaction of one human. Since I usually devoured three humans a week, I should actually hunt 12 animals. But the blood is so repulsive that I actually have to force myself to eat more than one. I guess you could say I'm underfeeding myself. But as long as I'm not becoming vampire anorexic, I'm good.

Emmett stays away much longer than I anticipated. I could just follow his trail but I'm not in the mood to play tracker. I try to listen where the others are but the house is too far away to pick up on their voices. I do pick up on something else though.

I stand up faster than the human eye can see and race after the scent I've picked up. There is a human three miles from here.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I know I should stop, I know that once I've sank my teeth into that flesh to taste that delicious source, I will have damaged the bond I have with this coven. But I can't stop, I don't want to. All I can think about is the red liquid I crave more than anything in this world. I've been deprived of it for too long. And now I'm finally going to get another taste of it.

I'm blinded by thirst but not that blind that I don't know another vampire is on my trail. I'm too focused on the heart beat I'm approaching to figure out who it is. It's one of the Cullens, that I'm sure of.

"Laurence, stop!"

It's Rosalie. I must say I'm surprised. Somehow Carlisle and Edward are usually the ones to come to 'the rescue'. I don't want them to help me, I don't need her to help me. I'm fine or at least I will be once I'm back on the right diet.

She's not alone anymore. There's another vampire with her and I don't need to be in my right mind to recognise the scent in an instant. I'd recognise Emmett in any state of mind.

Now that there's two of them, it's getting a little harder to stay out of their reach, especially when Rosalie is faster than me. But I've managed so far and I'll manage up until the point I've reached my goal. The human is female. By the way her scent makes me water, I'd say she's in her late twenties. She smells like flowers and honey but much more importantly, she smells like the most delicious meal I've ever had.

"You don't want to kill her." Emmett's voice comes from somewhere close to me.

Like hell I don't! I've never wanted anything more in my life than ripping that woman's throat apart.

The woman is lying on the forest floor. She appears to be dead but I know better. Her heart beat is pounding in my ears as if it is summoning me to her. I'll gladly obey.

I'm so close. Just a few meters left between me and her. But then I am tackled to the ground, hard. By Jasper. I growl angrily at him but when Emmett comes to his aid to help pin me down, I can't get up, I can't go to the woman who seems completely oblivious to the fact that there are vampires fighting right next to her.

"Let me go!" I growl angrily at Emmett.

"No!" He says.

By now the rest of the Cullens are here as well. There is no way I'll get my teeth in her now. The reason the woman wasn't moving is because she fell on her spine. She's as good as dead. Why won't they just let me end her misery then?

"You don't get to decide who deserves to live or die." Edwards says who watches Carlisle take the woman into his arms and run away.

"No!" I cry out in agony when they take her away.

Both Emmett and Jasper are still holding on to me while I twist and turn on the forest floor in an attempt to get away from them. The further away Carlisle takes her, the less I resist the position I am forced into. With her gone, I can think straight again. At least a little more than a few minutes ago.

"I think she calmed down." Emmett tells Jasper and start to slightly release his grip on me.

"That's probably what she wants you to think." Jasper says without following Emmett's example.

"I'm calm." I sigh exasperated.

When Jasper is finally convinced that I won't run after Carlisle and the woman the second they release me, he lets go of me as well. I don't get up immediately, instead I just lie on the forest floor.

"Are you okay?" Emmett asks me with concern clear in his expression.

I was not okay. Even though the woman was nowhere around me anymore, her scent had nestled itself into my nostrils and wouldn't give me any piece of mind for a long time. I still wanted her blood so damn much. The only difference is that now I can think rationally about it. But I still need it. I still want it.

"Fine." I grumble and get up.

The rest of the Cullens are still staring at me as if I'll snap again any moment now.

"Can we go back to the house?" I ask Emmett.

He nods and even though I had only asked Emmett, the moment we move, the rest of the Cullens are right behind us. I feel like I've committed a crime or something. All I did was let my instincts take control of me. It's nature.

I went to our room the second I entered the house again. The rest of the coven stayed in the living room, still watching me as if I were a criminal ready to break out of jail.

"Did Carlisle call?" I could hear Alice's voice downstairs.

"Yes, he brought the woman to the hospital but Carlisle was right. She'll probably be paralysed for the rest of her life." Esme answered her.

I was afraid to face Emmett after this. Not embarrassed of what I've done, or almost did, nor scared of what the family would see fitted as a punishment. But I didn't want Emmett to look at me with disappointment. I knew this diet would be hard but losing his trust in me would be even harder.

"She was fine when I saw her which must have been right before she went after the woman's scent." Emmett told the others.

"How much does she hunt?" Jasper asked him.

"I don't know. I'm not always the one who goes hunting with her."

Actually he is. I don't really want to do that with someone else. I have the first time with Edward and Rosalie and today with Carlisle but other than that it's always with Emmett. But I've told him I've gone hunting with the others as well, just so he doesn't whine about me not feeding enough. It's just still so repulsive.

"We've never gone hunting with her." Esme says.

"She's been lying to you, Emmett." Edward sighs, he probably already saw the truth in my mind. "She only goes hunting with you which means she's not feeding enough. That's why she snapped like that today."

"She was lying to me?"

The other thing I'm afraid of is Emmett thinking I don't trust him. I do, I just also knew he'd force me to feed of more animals and I can't. Their blood in my mouth just makes me want to gag.

I hear sudden movements downstairs. Emmett is rushing up the stairs at full speed and stands before me faster than I could think of a way to apologise to him.

"You've been lying to me?!" He growls.

At least he looks like he could rip my head off if he wanted to.


	14. We are complicated but beautiful

**Thank you lovely people for reviewing the story!**

**This is chapter 14 and it is only logical that after that one comes number 15. Unfortunately that chapter only consists out of 200 words at the moment. I will try my best to finish it so I can update again in two weeks but I feel obligated to tell you that I might not be able to make that deadline. I have a horrid case of the big bad block. And since it's the first time it's been this bad, I don't know how fast I'll be able to overcome it. But do not fear because I just posted over 3,000 words for you!**

** ScornedxRose : **_Thanks. I actually like an angry Emmett. I figured he wouldn't easily lose his cool but I think Laurence has a tendency to piss him off._

** Lalina92 : **_Haha, yes. She did mess it up this time. Thanks for reading and reviewing._

** witchbaby300 : **_I am so glad you read it as well :) and that you like it of course. I completely understand what you mean about the diet. I kind of didn't want to turn Laurence into a vegetarian but I figured that would be mandatory if she wanted to be Emmett's mate. I hope you'll like the turn of events still coming for this story._

** xxxRena : **_Thank you. I think the Cullens do understand but that doesn't mean it complicates their situation with Laurence not adapting to their diet. _

** Luli Cullen : **_Thanks. I hope you'll like this chapter as well._

** TvshowsManiac : **_Thank you so much. I don't know if this counts as fast but here's the new chapter:_

**Chapter 14**

"Why? Why would you lie to me?" Emmett rages.

Because I hate the blood and you'd made me drink it.

"You'd think I wouldn't be feeding enough." I tell him.

"You aren't! Clearly, you aren't! You just attacked an unconscious woman because you've been starving yourself!" He yells angrily at me and for the first time since I've met him he actually looks like a vampire to me.

"I didn't go after her because I was starving, I went after her because it's in my nature to tear a human apart for blood!"

He doesn't even wince at my plastic description of what I had wanted to do to the woman. But I know he hates it when I talk about humans as if they're nothing more than a meal. They aren't anything else.

"We're going hunting, now!" He growls and yanks me out the door.

I could get him to let go of me but I don't want to hurt him. And he's acting like this because I lied to him, I could at least listen to what he wants.

"I'm not hungry."

He lets out a cold and angry laugh.

"You're starving. We've already established that so let's just feed and get this over with."

To please him, I let him drag me all the way into the forest. He finally lets go of me when we approached a lonely deer who didn't even seem to notice our presence.

"Feed!" He commanded me.

I might have been trying to please him but I've already had that awful taste in my mouth once today. There is no way I'm doing it again.

"No."

"Now, Laurence!" He growls at me and if I didn't know any better I'd say he's about to kill me any moment now.

"I said no!" I hiss at him.

"How are you ever going to get used to this diet if you refuse to feed on a healthy basis?"

"I'm not really planning on getting used to it."

The moment the words leave my mouth, I wish I had though before saying anything. Because I know what I made it sound like and judging by the expression on my mate's face he knows as well. It sounds as if I never intended to give this diet an honest try, as if I never intended to stay with this coven, as if I'm already planning the day I'll leave Emmett.

"What are you waiting for then? If it is so horrid to do this for us, why haven't you left?!"

For a moment I actually considered what he is saying. That I could leave. He's giving me an out. Question is: do I want one?

"If you hate this lifestyle so fucking much, leave!" He growls. "Leave!"

I don't think he thought I'd actually do it. I turn around and run away because I cannot be a vegetarian vampire.

If he wanted to stop me he should have done something, anything, but instead he just listens to me running miles away from him.

I don't get very far. By the time the sun started to set, my heart already ached too much from his absence and I couldn't will myself to step one foot further away from him.

I seem to be finding myself in this position a lot. Wanting to leave but I just cannot do it. Where will I go anyway? The life of a nomad just isn't as appealing to me now that I've met the one person that completes me.

So the only sensible thing to do is run back towards the Cullens at full speed. What was I thinking leaving him like that in the first place?

The sun is close to rising again once I'm back in the coven's territory, my coven. It's about time that I start accepting this new life I have here instead of constantly comparing it to my old one. Sure, the hunting and the power that came with it was exhilarating but being with Emmett is so much better than that.

I want to rush back to the house as soon as I can but there is something I need to do first. If I want to show Emmett that I'm really making an effort, I should feed. Of an animal, preferably five of them since that's going to be the amount I'll have to devour to stay satisfied.

I kill a deer first, wondering if it's the same deer Emmett was forcing me to feed off but that one probably died at the angry hands of my mate. I kill a bear secondly. I'm about to go find a next victim when I smell a Cullen approaching. I'm hoping it's Emmett. If not him, I want it to be Carlisle or Edward. But instead I recognise Jasper's scent. That's just wonderful.

"You came back." He states once he's standing in front of me.

"Disappointed?" I cock an eyebrow at him.

"Somewhat."

At least he's honest.

To my surprise he doesn't go away once I start ignoring his presence and return to finding my next kill. Instead he actually joins me. We take down a small pack of deer together. That should be enough to satisfy me for a while even though I feel like throwing up that awful blood right now.

"I wouldn't have picked this diet for myself." He suddenly says.

Jasper is actually talking to me?!

"When Alice first mentioned that she wanted to join a coven of vegetarian vampires, I thought she was crazy. Feeding of animals? It didn't seem like a real possibility to me. But after staying with them for a while, I began to see the good side of no longer feeding on humans."

"There's a good side?"

"When I was still hunting humans, it was hell. With every person I drained I would feel their whirlwind of emotions until the very moment their hearts stopped beating. The fear, the despair, the love they feel for the ones they leave behind. It was torture."

"The forest animals don't have feelings?"

"They have instincts. It's less depressing."

"I do not have a gift like yours. I've never felt guilty for taking a human's life." I scowl at him.

His little story wasn't really making me feel any better.

"True, but you too must have a reason why this life is better than the previous one and I'd bet my life on the fact that the reason is Emmett. You stayed here and tried the diet for him. So give it a fair try. I might not like you because I know what you really are, but Emmett is my family and he loves you more than anything."

With that said, Jasper turned back around and started to leave. He only stopped because I called him back.

"What I am?"

I hadn't understood what he meant by that.

"You're a vicious creature that pries on human blood. And you like it."

True. Was that the reason Jasper had such a great dislike for me? Because he is the only one in the family who believes there isn't good in everyone? That I can't change?"

"How do you know that?" I asked him.

"Because I used to be just like you."

"What changed?"

"I found Alice. Or Alice found me."

Maybe there was some hope for me. Emmett could change me. If there was anyone who could, it was the man I've come to love intensely. I'm not leaving Emmett again if there's a chance I can be a part of this coven. This family.

I drank from two more deers before I followed into Jasper's footsteps and I approached the house once again. I know they heard, or smelled or foresaw my presence but no one came outside to greet me. They were all sitting in the living room, all besides Emmett. I could sense his presence upstairs, in our room. I immediately passed the living room. It wasn't them I was dying to see.

"Emmett?"

My beautiful vampire was sitting on the bed, staring at the wall.

"You left."

"I came back."

"You still left."

I sigh deeply and make my way over to where he is sitting.

"I don't know how to do this."

"Do what?"

"Not run away."

I really didn't. It's a natural reflex. Vampires and especially me don't like to stay in one place for a long time.

"That's who I am. I go from one place to another and I don't get attached to anything or anyone."

"Is that your apology?" He frowned.

"No, this is my cry for help. I am asking you to teach me how to be like you. We may both be vampires but you're still so... so human. I can't bond the way you and the others have. It's a natural instinct to leave you so next time, just stop me. Please."

"I'm still waiting for the apology."

"I'm sorry." I tell him sincerely.

He finally looks back at me.

"I won't come after you next time." He says.

"You didn't come after me this time either." I point out.

"I was just about to when Alice told me you turned around and were coming back. I also followed you the first time you left. How come it is always me chasing you?"

"Because I'm too much of a coward to do that." I admit.

Emmett was the brave one out of the two of us. I might be more powerful than him, and honestly I'm also smarter, but he was the brave one. He was the one to declare me as his mate first when I didn't even want to hear about that possibility. And he is the one who threw himself in this relationship with heart and soul, if he still has one of course. But I believe he has. I'm the soulless monster here, not my Emmett.

"I mean it, Laurence, next time I'm not going to chase you." He sighs and I know he's being serious.

"That's okay." I say.

He frowns.

"What I mean is that you won't have to. I can't promise that I won't leave again somewhere in the next century but I can promise you that I'll come back to you. Always." I tell him.

"Pinkie swear?" He half smiles.

"I don't even know what that is." I laugh. "But okay."

Emmett quickly engulfs me in his embrace and kisses me. He sets a fire alight in my chest and the only way to put it out is by loving him over and over again.

Only by the time the sun has come up again, we are fully satisfied. We can hear the other members of our family moving around downstairs. Some of them have gone hunting and others are getting ready for school which is starting today.

"Do you have to go today?" I turn towards my godlike mate.

"Yes." He sighs. "I can't miss my last first day of school."

"There will be more to come."

There will be a lot more to come. Emmett has graduated and gone to college several times now. He and the others even have some kind of inside joke. They save all the graduation caps and actually made a piece of art out of it. I didn't see the humour of it because going back to school over and over again really isn't amusing at all. But Emmett apparently found it hilarious.

"What am I supposed to do during the time you're away?" I mutter.

"Esme offered to go hunting with you."

I want to scream out 'no' but I promised I'd try for real this time so I reluctantly nod my agreement. Today was going to be hell.

After I begrudgingly kissed Emmett goodbye when he left for school, Esme gently breaks the ice by saying we don't have to go hunting if I don't want to.

"It's okay. I'm hungry anyway." I shrug.

Esme is extremely cautious the entire afternoon. She stays uncomfortably close to me and almost seems afraid to take me to far away from the house. I can't really blame her though. If I'd smell a human now and go crazy again, there is no way Esme can stop me all by herself.

When I'm finally fully satisfied, even though I wouldn't mind just one human to wash away the taste of animal blood, we head back to the house.

Time moves extremely slowly when Emmett isn't around. We've gone hunting for quite some time, she showed me the cars they keep in the garage and it still isn't even close to the moment Emmett will come back from school. This sucks.

"Are all the days this long?!" I whine to Esme.

She looks up from the book she had been reading. I wasn't doing anything. Unless you count glaring at the unmoving clock an activity.

"Time passes faster if you'd do something other than staring at the hour." She says calmly.

"Like what?" I frown.

"Maybe you need a hobby."

"I thought hunting the forest creatures was our hobby." I reply dryly.

"No, that's a necessity. With so much time on our hands, we can learn anything we want. Edward has a passion for music and is a really talented pianist. Rosalie is quite the mechanic, there isn't a car she can't fix up."

A mechanic? As a woman, I wouldn't really take pride on such a skill but maybe that's just my old mindset.

"I haven't been in a car for over 50 years and I don't have a musical fibre in my bones." I say.

"There must be something you like doing." Esme ponders.

Does having sex with Emmett count?

"Wasn't there something you enjoyed when you were still human?"

I needed to think about that for a while. I had liked reading books but I've done that so much since I've had an eternity. I must have read every good book on the planet by now.

"Judging people." I shrug.

True, that had been something I filled my days with during my human life.

"Well, we can't really do something with that." Esme sighs. "I'll think about some possibilities."

"What am I supposed to do until then?" I sigh dramatically.

"Edward has been meaning to alphabetise his music collection."

And out of sheer boredom, I actually did that. And I went through Alice and Rose's closets. I cleaned up Carlisle's office and even changed outfit three times. God, I am bored!

"How much longer?" I whine from the hallway upstairs to the woman sitting in the living room.

"School ends in ten minutes. I'm sure Emmett will rush back here as fast as he can."

He better.

I waited and waited and waited for Emmett to return what must have seemed for longer than a week but in reality was only fifteen minutes. And finally I can smell Emmett approaching.

He's in the hallway faster than I can run downstairs to greet him. I'm immediately engulfed in a passionate kiss and it relieves me to see he has missed me just as much.

"Please tell me school is only a once in a year event." I sigh when he finally releases my lips.

"Did you not have good day?" He smiles happily.

"I've never been so bored in my life, human and vampire."

When did time start to pass so slowly? For creatures like me weeks are to us what hours are to humans.

"Is it mean that I'm pleased with that?" He grins.

"Yes. " I huff.

"I'm here now. What shall we do?"

Well, that was a no-brainer. When are we going to get out of this state of unsatisfiable lust?

"Esme suggested to get a hobby." I sigh in his arms afterwards.

"That's not a bad idea. Any thoughts on which one you'd like?"

"None. I don't really have any interests the way you all seem to have."

"You could learn a new language."

"I already speak English, French, Italian and German. I don't really need another one."

"Learn to play an instrument?"

"And fill this house with false notes, compared to those of Edward? No, thank you."

"Paint?"

"No way."

"Hey, I've got an idea." He suddenly sits up excitedly.

"That sort of worries me."

"Why don't you learn to drive a car?"

"What?" I frown.

"I mean it. I know the cell phone and the television weren't a huge success but maybe you'll like driving. It will certainly come in handy once you're allowed to leave the property."

"I'm a vampire. You really think I need a car to get anywhere?"

"Well, you can't just arrive at a place running at vampire speed. That kind of counts as exposing us to humans."

"I don't know." I frown. "Doesn't seem like fun."

"I'll teach you the basics and during the day Esme can help you. You can take my truck, that way you'll be able to drive around in the forest. Rosalie would kill you if you did that with her Ferrari."

I want to say no but he's actually enthusiastic about the idea and I don't want to be the bad guy who shoots it down.

"I guess I could give it a try." I eventually say though still not convinced in the slightest.

"Great, we'll do it now." He jumps out of the bed.

"Now?!"

"Yes, or were you going to sleep?"

"Haha," I reply dryly.

Emmett gets the car out of the garage and into the driveway before I even have the chance to rethink what I just agreed to.

"Okay," He says excitedly when I sit in the driver's seat. "There are three very important rules to driving. One, don't wreck the car. Two, don't run over any people. Three, always, always treat it with the utmost respect."

He is actually petting the thing.

"So, on the food chain, I'm guessing it would be vampire – car – human?" I cock an eyebrow at him.

"Hmm…" He ponders. "I'd say car and vampire are actually on the same level."

"Really? In that case I would love to throw that huge rock over there on the car and see what will come out on top." I grin.

"That's rule number one!" He yells, almost appalled at the idea. "Don't wreck the car. I might have to rethink this, Laurence."

Unfortunately he doesn't rethink it, he actually seems rather determined to teach me how to drive the stupid thing. At first everything that came out of his mouth was a bunch of gibberish to me but gradually it started to make sense.

"Why are you so set on making me blend into the modern world?" I ask him once he announced that we were done for now and locked to car back up in the garage.

"Because it's my world. I know I'm not exactly the role model for the 90's since I was born 60 years ago, but I like this time period, I like it a hell of a lot more than I did my own. And I want you to be a part of it, it's something I want to share with you."

"In that case…" I smile. "I get to teach you about my time period."

"You're not going to make me wear those clothes, are you?" He frowns.

"Maybe." I grin.


	15. We are not made for the proper way

**I did it! I was somehow able to squeeze this little chapter out of my brain and it didn't even turn out as badly as I expected it to. :) Luckily I've got an idea for the next chapter so don't worry, I'll make that deadline as well.**

**By the way: 100 reviews! That's so great! Thank you everyone!**

** ScornedxRose : **_Yep, she's really trying this time. And I updated! Aren't you happy? :p_

** Lalina92 : **_I'm glad you think Laurence and Emmett are good together. They'll have to be if they want to survive the highs but especially the lows coming their way._

** xxxRena : **_It makes me happy that you loved the previous chapter and Laurence attempting to fit in and try her best for Emmett. I hope you'll also like this chapter._

** Luli Cullen : **_Thanks. Hopefully you'll like this update as well._

** XxBookXxWormXx : **_The world would be a much better place for Laurence if she could just have Emmett and still feed of humans. Of course not really a better world for those humans. It isn't really like Carlisle is forcing her to be a vegetarian, she just really doesn't like the alternative a.k.a. not be with Emmett._

** kate x wolfe : **_Glad you can appreciate the humour :D_

**Chapter 15**

The driving lessons weren't the disaster I assumed them to be. I actually kind of liked it even though both Esme and Emmett sounded like they spoke Chinese once they started talking about carburettors and pistons. I don't do the technical talk, I just go with my gut and so far I haven't wrecked the precious car so I must be doing something right. Plus, it also keeps my mind busy on the days Emmett is at school though Esme is still trying to come up with a hobby for me, so far unsuccessful. I've taken up cleaning though, if that counts as a hobby. She says it doesn't.

"Laurence?"

I immediately race downstairs once I hear my beautiful vampire call out my name. I launch myself at him and keep my lips locked with his for at least twenty minutes. Ah, the advantages of no need for breathing. It's been 8 months since I've joined the Cullens again and claimed Emmett as my mate but I'm still nowhere close to getting bored of this.

"I have a surprise for you." He smiles at me.

I give him a suspicious look. So far his surprises have been tasting caribou instead of deer and I am most definitely still not a fan, buying me the most flashiest sport car he could find while I'm actually more a fan of the jeep type and buying us a new, ugly, heart-shaped bed since we've already broken seven by now.

"What is it?" I groan.

"What's with the moaning? You'll like it."

"I seriously doubt it."

And I'm right. My displeasure only increases when he pulls out a blindfold and insists I put it on.

"No." I say firmly.

"Oh, come on. It will be fun." He whines.

"You always say that and it never is."

"Please?"

Doe eyes on a vampire is just so wrong!

"Fine." I scoff eventually and let him put on the blindfold.

I feel him lead me to one of the cars though I can tell by the height that it's not his. I smell two other vampires in the car with us. What kind of surprise do we need Esme and Carlisle for?

"They're here just in case we run into any humans." Emmett answers my unspoken question.

I've been around humans. Well, not the way the plan was. I don't go into town or anything, I'm still not allowed out of the house by myself. But one day Emmett and Edward brought me close enough to the road, that I could smell and crave the humans passing by. I'm proud to say I didn't snap. I am nowhere near able to go to school or anything – not that I want to anyway – but by taking little steps I think one day I might.

It is a fairly long drive but eventually the car stops.

"Are we there?" I sigh, annoyed at the fact that I'm still not allowed to see anything.

"Yes, but the blindfold stays on." Emmett says to me before escorting me out of a car.

The one hour drive and the fact that I can't smell the usually nature scents, makes me think we're in a town. But for some reason I can't smell a human. Well, there's one about 4 miles away but that's too far for me to actually snap. I can't even hear its heartbeat.

"And where exactly are we?" I sigh.

"For someone with all the time in the world, you're really impatient." He snickers.

I hear him open a door and follow him inside. It smells old in here. I don't know how I know this but this is a fairly old building, especially compared to the Cullens' modern house.

I am forced to follow Emmett up the stairs while Carlisle and Esme seem to have decided to stay on the ground floor. He opens a door, tells me to stand in the middle of the room and finally takes off the bloody blindfold.

The room we're in is very dark but since I live in darkness, I have no trouble seeing. It looks as if we're in… my old house.

"Tadaa! Surprise!" He stands proudly in front of me with open arms.

I give him a confused look. I don't understand the surprise. At least I knew what he was going for when he bought us a bed.

"You said that if I got to force you into today's modern world, that I should try and indulge myself in yours. But since the 19th century has been over for a while now, this was the best I could do."

"You think my world is a museum?"

"A museum with an entire floor dedicated to the late 1800's."

I look at him in silence. This is actually rather sweet.

"I mean, you were born in 1865, right?" He wonders after I keep silence for a while.

"1869 to be exact." I smile at him before going through all the objects in here.

He seems relieved that I at least seem interested in the place he brought me to and follows me to the cutlery.

"It's in a pretty secluded part of town. We're actually quite lucky we didn't run into any humans. Just to be sure I rented the entire building for tonight."

I give him a surprised look. I always forget that the Cullens have a lot of money. They just don't flaunt it around. Well, they do buy flashy car and live in an extremely expensive house but they don't flaunt it the way the Volturi did. I'm sure that if they wanted to, they could build themselves a castle as well. Maybe even a little adoring town to go with it.

I explain to him how the things in glass cases work. I'm surprised by how much I still seemed to remember of it. Sometimes I have no idea what it is though and we're forced to look at the description.

There's a little section dedicated to jewellery and a beautiful ring catches my attention. It resembles the one I used to have a lot. I wore it when I was changed into a vampire but threw it away once Archie gave me a more expensive one. I also didn't like keeping a memento of my human life.

"What are you looking at?" Emmett scans the collection of rings.

"I used to have one like it." I point to the ring.

"The description says it's an engagement ring." He frowns.

"It is."

"You were engaged?!" He stares at me. "Were you married?"

I can tell he doesn't like the idea of me being married, even though technically the man would have become a widow after my passing and that would mean I was no longer bound to the man.

"Not married." I assure him. "Archie turned me at my engagement party."

"Some kind of party." He mutters.

"I don't even remember his name." I wonder out loud.

"Good."

"But I do seem to remember he was awful."

"Was he mean?"

"Worse. He was boring."

"That's worse?" He frowns.

"I hate boring." I nod.

"I'll keep that in mind."

I smile. Emmett is anything but boring.

I make my way over to another section when Emmett asks me a question.

"Do you want one?"

"Do I want one what?"

"An engagement ring."

I turn to him. It seems like it was a fairly honest question.

"What would I do with one?" I frown.

"I think most people just wear it around their finger." He grins.

I know that. But why would I want an engagement ring anyway? I was engaged during my human life because it was the right thing to do, the logical next step after puberty. My father would have been really embarrassed if I had become an old spinster. But as a vampire I don't really need a husband.

"Carlisle bought Esme one." He says.

"Of course, how else would they keep up the pretence that they're a normal couple who adopted children who all have the same eye colour?"

By the way, I think that cover is a little weak. People are bound to realise we look too much alike what with the golden eyes and pale skin. Oh, and the fact that we don't eat.

"He married her because he wanted her to be his wife and do the right thing by her."

I snort.

"The right thing? So they wouldn't live together in sin?!" I laugh. "I hate to be the one to break it to you, but as a vampire you're already pretty sure of a ticket to the ever-burning fire. It doesn't really matter if he made an honest woman out of her."

"You think we're going to hell?"

I've had this discussion with Edward before and unlike Carlisle, he completely agrees with me that being a vampire means the only way you're going is to Lucifer's den.

"Well, maybe not Carlisle." I ponder.

There's just something very… non-demonic about that man.

I walk to the last case filled with clothes of my decade. Emmett follows me like always but doesn't seem to want to drop this conversation.

"Alice and Jasper have been married five times now. They like renewing their vows. And also because Alice loves the wedding dresses. Wouldn't you want a wedding gown?"

"Are you proposing to me?" I frown.

"I don't know… Do you want me to?"

"No." I say. "You're already my mate. There's nothing bigger, better or higher than that."

"But maybe I could be your mate _and _your husband."

I look him in the eye to see if he's just messing with me. He seems pretty serious though.

"Is this something you've been giving a lot of thought?" I ask him, afraid that he's about to tell me he has wanted to pop the question ever since we met.

"No, the idea just popped into my head five minutes ago." He shrugs.

"Can you pop it out again?"

He shakes his head.

"Well, since it was just a spur of the moment question, you'll get over my rejection." I shrug.

"You're right. It was just in the spur of the moment but that doesn't mean I'll forget about it. As proof to that, I'll ask you again in a year." He smiles.

"Fine, but the answer will still be the same."

When we go downstairs, we find Esme and Carlisle already standing outside. Me and Emmett get in the car and off we go. But before Esme can even take her seat in the front, I am slapped in the face by an intense scent.

"Laurence?" Emmett's head snaps to me in panic.

The human isn't too far away. I could jump out of the car and find him in a few seconds. He's way closer to me than that injured woman had been. I could snap and there's nothing these vampires can do about it. They really should have brought Jasper along with them.

I inhale deeply to capture the scent better but I don't move. I shouldn't get out of the car and hunt the man down. I made a promise.

"Just drive."' I grit through my teeth.

I don't have to say it again. Carlisle immediately presses his foot down and takes us back to the deserted roads.

"That was good, Laurence." He smiles at me from his rear mirror. "You didn't even try to go after him."

"I'm really hungry now though." I grumble, not as pleased by the fact that I let the man get away as Carlisle.

"We'll go hunting when we get back." Emmett promises me.

If there's one thing I really hate about living with the Cullens it is the fact that they are everywhere. I leave my room and there's a Cullen. I step outside and there's a Cullen. Me and Emmett go hunting in a giant forest with no living creature for miles and guess what we run into? Cullens.

Japser and Edward apparently went for a hunt as well and judging by their golden eyes, I'd say they fed quite well.

"You're going on a hunt?" Edward asks us when we run into them.

"Obviously." I mutter while Emmett simply nods.

"Do you need some help?" He asks Emmett while looking over at me.

"I do not need a babysitter, Edward." I growl at the bloody annoying mind-reader.

"No need for insults." He says.

But the two vampires still join us, as if they're still afraid I'll suddenly run off and eat the nearest human. I have no idea where the nearest human is!

After three deers, I'm sort of satisfied and the four of us return to the house.

"You don't have school tomorrow, do you?" I ask Emmett.

"No." He smiles arrogantly. "Did you have something in mind?"

I can see Edward from the corner of my eye rolling his eyes.

"You need to work on your fighting skills." I say.

"Not really what I had in mind." He's pouting now.

"Not really what you're good at either." I retort.

I would love for nothing more than to be able to say that he's improving but the truth is, he isn't. I guess I'm partially the blame for it as well since we haven't spend much time getting him better at it. As hard as he might find it to believe, continuously knocking him into the ground isn't as much fun as it sounds.

"Do I have to?" He whines to me like a little kid would to his mother.

"Yes." I simply say.

"You can be so harsh, Laurence." He's still pouting.

"You're teaching him how to fight?" Jasper suddenly opens his mouth and addresses me.

"My goodness, is Major Jasper Whitlock actually talking to me?" I mock. "What greatness have I achieved to deserve his attention?"

"Just answer the question." He snaps.

"Yeah, that got your attention, didn't it?" I grin.

Besides the strange conversation we had the day I once again returned to Emmett, the only time he ever shows any interest or even acknowledges my very presence is when it's about fighting. I'm willing to bet a limb on the fact that he's been dying this entire time to have me teach him as well. His pride won't let him though and it's not as if I'd actually be willing.

"Yes, she is." Emmett eventually sighs. "Why, Jasper? You want her to teach you as well? I'm sure she'll do it if you ask."

He and I both scoff at the same time. He is not asking me and I am not teaching him.

"I don't need to be taught." He huffs. "But I wouldn't mind watching."

I turn to him in surprise. Did he just admit to himself and to me that he would be interested?

"You want to watch me kick your brother's ass?" I ask him in surprise.

I still find it really weird that they refer to each other as brothers. Hell, I still find it messed up that they call themselves a family instead of a coven. I'm more likely to fall over and die than to call Esme and Carlisle mummy and daddy.

"I wouldn't mind seeing that as well." Edward grins.

"Why do you all assume she'll kick my ass? For all you know I'll have her on her back in seconds."

We look at him before all three of us burst out in laughter.

"Yeah, right." I laugh.

"I've done so before." He scoffs.

"That's in an entirely different context, baby." I grin.

"It's already bad enough we have to hear you, don't make sexual references in our presence as well." Edward groans.

He's just easily upset by it because he's not getting any.

"Hey!" He snaps at me.

Stay out of my head if you don't want to hear those things!

"Fine," I turn to Jasper. "If you want to, you can watch. Hell, the whole coven is invited if they want to."

"Wow, Laurence." Emmett looks at me. "No need to make it public knowledge that I need my mate to make me a better fighter."

I roll my eyes. Men and their pride. They're like little babies.


	16. He is a bloody nuisance

_**I know, I know it's been over a month since I've updated this story even though I promised regular updates every two weeks. And I don't even have a reason! Other than the obvious writer's block and other things taking up my free time. Sorry you all had to wait so long for it :s**_

** Luli Cullen : **_Thanks. I'm sorry you and everyone else had to wait so long for a new update. _

** xxxRena : **_It was actually really hard to figure what I wanted Emmett to surprise her with so I'm glad you liked it. _

** BunnyMooMooMonster : **_I'm glad you like the story so far. I agree that the story needs some new drama which is why I'm going to enter a time skip in the next chapter. _

** kate x wolfe : **_Emmett didn't take Laurence to her old house she used to live in when she was human. She just remarked that it reminded her of her old house. The museum they visited together on the time period she lived in as a human just resembled her house because it was build in the same style and era. I guess that might have been confusing. _

_**To make things up to you guys, I'm going to add new drama soon which will hopefully also help with the whole block thing by skipping time in the next chapter. **_

_**Hope you're all still following the story and will review. **_

**Chapter 16**

I kept my word. The next day me, Emmett, Edward, Alice and Jasper find ourselves a place in the forest to work on Emmett's fighting skills. Carlisle had to work today and the women in the coven had already planned a shopping trip. I'm surprised that Alice didn't join Rosalie and Esme to Seattle but I think maybe she wanted to keep an eye on things, make sure I don't kill her mate or something.

"Alright," I turn to Emmett while the three other vampires stand at the tree line of the open space. "Just remember what I told you last time about feigning manoeuvres. Please use it."

Emmett gives me an annoyed growl and glare before preparing himself to come at me.

It's the same as usually. Avoiding him is so pitifully easy that all I have to do is take a quick step to the side and plan my elbow hard onto his back. But he does deserve some credit for persistence. Even though I keep knocking him to the ground with hardly any effort, he keeps getting up.

I can tell that the vampires on the sideline think I'm being a bit harsh, with one exception. Jasper is barely paying any attention to Emmett. Instead he seems too focused on me. He is analysing me. I should have known that was the reason he wanted to watch. He's trying to figure out how to defeat me.

"Would you like to try, Major?" I turn to him when Emmett is once again knocked down. "You seem quite fascinated."

I couldn't help but let my distain for him drip through my words.

I thought he would just ignore me but instead he nods and walks into the open space.

"Is that a good idea?" Emmett looks at Jasper who is coming to take his place.

"They'll be fine." Alice says in her usually dreamy voice and she would know of course. I'm sure she would have a problem with it as well if she saw a less fortunate outcome.

"This is going to be fun." I grin at the vampire in front of me.

Attacking and avoiding him won't be as easy as it is with Emmett. I know that. I also know that he is more than capable at really tearing off a limb or two. But I for one have always wanted to kick the major's ass. And I was most definitely not planning on holding anything back.

"I hope you don't mind a few bite marks but I see you already have a collection." I grin at him while baring my fangs to him.

Getting bitten by another vampire stings as hell. I know some do it to add some pleasure to the bedroom activities but the day Emmett tries that, I'll break his neck once more.

I have a few bite marks as well since Santiago thought I needed some additional motivation whenever I was slacking off during training but it's nowhere near as many as a fighter from a new born army would have. He's probably also better at enduring the pain of it.

He doesn't let my taunting distract him. Instead he seems almost scarily calm and focused. It is almost as if he didn't hear me at all.

"You'll still love your mate when he's missing his arms, won't you?" I turn to Alice.

That's what he was waiting for but what he forgot was that I knew it was exactly what he was waiting for. He leaped at me and I took a step to the right. Emmett has made me lazy because the major only missed me by a hair. He doesn't give me the chance to stand still because he is once again right behind me and actually able to graze my arm. I think I have to step up my game with him.

I would love for nothing more than to taunt him right now with snarky remarks but I think I will really need my concentration with him. He barely seems to register anything other than my movement and I would be wise to do the same.

He crouches down and attacks me again. I allow him to tackle me onto the ground so I can take his head in a firm lock. He growls angrily at me but he knows if he turns his head the bad way, I'll accidently tear his head off. He may be a vampire but when your head is ripped off, you're dead. Immortal or not.

I let a grin creep up my face because I know I've practically won with not even too much effort. But then I make a very fatal mistake. Without even realising I've slightly loosened my grip on his head, I suddenly find myself pushed up against a rock by Jasper and his teeth pierce my granite skin.

The pain reminds me of my transformation, more vividly than anything ever has before. I shout out in agony before immediately throwing him off me and onto one of the nearest trees.

"Jasper, don't." Alice suddenly sounds concerned. She probably does not like what she saw was coming next anymore.

I hiss violently while trying to ignore the stinging venom that is now spreading through my body. It won't slow me down or anything but it hurts as if I'm dying all over again.

He's barely back on his feet when I tackle him once again to the ground and pin his body down so that there is no way he'll get up again. I growl once again in his face.

"No!" Alice screams but she's too late.

With inhuman strength and speed I rip off Jasper's left arm.

He howls out in pain and doesn't concern himself with me anymore. The fight is over. I mean, he's missing an arm. I'm convinced that makes me the victor. I get off him and allow Alice to pull him back to his feet.

"Guess that means I win." I grin down at him.

"You didn't have to do that." Alice turns to me. "You would have won either way."

"It was more fun like this." I shrug.

I turn around and walk away. I see Japser's arm lying on the ground, squirming as if it was feeling the sting of venom I was still feeling in my neck. I pick it up and wave it in Jasper's direction.

"You're missing a piece." I grin viciously at him which earns me a growl in return.

I toss it to him and he catches it with an angry scowl. I guess I would be pissed as well if I were missing a limb.

"I'm hungry." I suddenly say in a light tone and take off in the direction I sniffed a bear.

I had hoped Emmett might have wanted to hunt with me but after draining the entire bear, he didn't come. I shrug it off. And then I realise this is the first time I've ever gone hunting without supervision. That is strange. They barely let me walk through the house without a companion and now they're just letting me roam the forest by myself?

"Emmett?" I yell to my silent surroundings.

There is no way he would have let me go by myself. Then where was he?

It takes another minute before I can feel him approaching me. What took him so long? When he comes out from the forest I can tell he looks… almost angry.

"Why did you do that?!" He yells at me.

"Do what?" I frown. "Kill the bear? I didn't really want to since it was gross but you make me-"

"I don't care about the bear!" He roars angrily.

I am taken aback by his sudden outburst. Emmett hardly ever yells at me.

"Why did you rip Jasper's arm off?!"

"He wanted to fight. He lost." I simply say.

"You could have just kept him pinned to the ground. He would have admitted defeat."

"That's very anti-climactic." I scoff.

"But a lot less cruel." He blames me.

"He bit me!" I growl.

Emmett's eyes soften while his gaze shift to my neck. He reaches out and strokes the bite mark that has already become a scar, barely visible for human eyes.

"He shouldn't have done that either." He whispers.

"Well, he did and I retaliated." I hiss.

"We don't treat family like this." He says sadly.

"It's not a family." I roll my eyes. "Esme didn't give birth to anyone and nobody is related. It's a coven."

Not that I had been nice to my family but I just wish all these vamps would just call it a fucking coven.

"You have to apologise to him." Emmett ignores what I just said.

"What!?" I yell. "Never."

"You tore off his arm. Don't you think he deserves an apology?"

"No! And it will grow back on anyway."

"Not for another two days. He can't go to school on Monday without his left arm."

"Poor vampire." I say sarcastically. "He probably already had that lesson ten times. He'll manage to miss it once."

"That's not the point. You dismembered him!"

"Yes, and I liked it!"

That shuts him up. Instead he looks at me with an unreadable expression etched onto his face.

"Sometimes you scare me." He softly says.

"Why?" I calmly reply. "Because I'm cold and cruel? It's in my nature."

"No, because you're cold and cruel to the people who care about you."

"They do not care about me." I scoff. "They tolerate me, for your sake. They don't even like me."

"Don't say that." He whines. "They care. You're a part of this family."

"It's a fucking coven!" I growl.

"Fine, a coven." He admits. "Whatever the name, they're part of the deal."

Oh, I knew very well they were. As was adjusting to the modern human world, learn to behave as a human being and drink fucking animal blood. The deal only had sacrifices on my part.

"Yes, and what a fucking lovely deal it has been so far!" I hiss angrily.

His facial expression visibly hardens and I know what he's thinking right now.

"I didn't mean it like that." I quickly say. "Just because I dislike the terms of the agreement, doesn't mean I wouldn't willingly make the deal again."

He frowns as if he still doesn't believe me.

"Idiot." I growl before pulling him closer to me harshly by the neck and devouring his sweet lips.

He wastes no time wounding his arms around my waist and pulling me tightly to his chest. So tightly I would have snapped in two if I wasn't as indestructible as he is. I feel him growl deep inside his chest with appreciation and later with disappointment when I pull away.

"I'm still not apologising to him." I whisper in his ear before lathering his neck with kisses and playful bites.

"Laurence…"

"But I guess I can refrain from ripping the limbs of any members of this coven." I eventually say.

He gives a particular loud moan when I tug at his earlobe with my fangs.

"That's as far as I'm willing to go." I say.

I've already tried to act as civil as I can towards those vampires. I'm not saying I don't like them because Esme is very endearing and Rose is surprisingly nice enough company. I've even gotten used to having Edward picking though my brain constantly. But I will, under no circumstances, apologise to Jasper for something he clearly deserved.

"Fair enough." Emmett eventually says before ripping my dress off.

We postpone the moment where we have to return to the house. According to Emmett everyone was still really pissed when he came after me which I guess isn't really much of a surprise.

But several hours later I let Emmett drag me back to the house. I don't leave our room but I can hear the other vampires in the house. Especially Esme is very upset over Jasper's temporary disfigurement. She's too tender-hearted. Jasper doesn't say a lot, just grumbles and sends me a lot of anger. I hate his gift. It is as if I am furious the entire time, not that it's different from my usual mood.

"Are you going to be okay today?" Emmett turns to me on Monday morning.

"Well, I'm still not happy about this whole educational thing but other than your absence, I don't see what would disrupt me today."

"We're all going to school, something you will be doing soon as well," I throw him a disgusted look when he mentions it. Carlisle has been pressing the matter lately but I am still not on board with it. "Which means you'll be in the house today, alone with Jasper."

Alone with Jasper, huh? It would not be pleasant but most definitely interesting.

"Esme will be here as well." He says. "But I'm afraid there's only so little she can do when the two of you start ripping off body parts again."

"I promised you I wouldn't do that." I roll my eyes.

Though I can't say I won't get tempted.

"I will believe that when I get home and everything will still be attached to the right bodies." He kisses me and speeds downstairs to start his precious car.

I hear everyone else leave the house as well and soon all is quiet. Well, not all. I can clearly hear Esme rummaging in her kitchen which is of course ridiculous because it's not like she would have to cook anything or bake. I can hear sounds coming from the television so I can assume Jasper is staring at that dreadful screen again. What is the Cullens' obsession with that thing?!

Finally I get up, slip on a flowing gown and make my way downstairs. As predicted, Jasper is sitting in front of the moving images but I can tell he's tensed since he figured out I'm moving into the room.

"That looks interesting." I look at the men on the screen running from one side of the field to another.

Jasper grunts something incomprehensible.

When I sit down next to him, he send me a deadly look. Esme is back in the living room to keep an eye on the both of use, a wary look in her eyes when her gaze shifts between the two of us.

"That looks harmless." I point to his arm.

"Laurence, I don't think it's a good idea to rile him up." Esme says softly.

"I am not trying to rile him up. I am merrily stating it's starting to grow back on nicely."

His arm is immobile and he clearly cannot move it anymore. But it seems to have grown back on rather well. It will only be a matter of hours before he can move it again and probably use it to rip mine off.

"I'm not downplaying your pain but just so you know, that bite really stung."

He turns back to me with pure hatred lingering in his eyes.

"You do not agree that my pain is slightly worse than yours!?"

"No, I do. But I think you can also agree with the fact that it's your own damn fault for starting it." I point to the bite mark on my neck.

"You're annoying." He snarls at me before returning his head to the screen.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you avert the apocalypse.


	17. It is home

**I am still alive! I know most people might have given up on following this story by now but just to the ones who are still with me: thank you for still reading! By now I have figured I cannot keep my promise to you of updating this story every two weeks. Instead I'll be updating whenever I have a new chapter finished but I promise you there will still be a lot of chapters. This story is still very much in progress. **

** xxxRena : **_I'm glad to hear you like and understand Laurence. A goody-two-shoes vampire would be kind of boring._

** Lucy Greenhill : **_Thank you. I know you had to wait for it for quite a while but you finally have my new chapter. _

**Chapter 17**

FIVE YEARS LATER

I look at the atrocious building in front of me. What humans admire in the modern style would forever remain a mystery to me. Did they honestly think that horrid collection of glass and metal was beautiful?

I put my sunglasses back on before leaving the car. Humans might find my golden eyes frightening, though of course not as frightening as they would if they were still red. It is not as if the glasses block my vision, it is still as clear as always.

"Have a safe trip, Mr and Mrs Cullen." The cab driver says to us in his flawed English.

I don't pay much attention to the man who has gawked at us since the moment he laid eyes on us. I found him annoying but Emmett apparently thought he still deserved a tip.

"Ready to go home?" He whispers in my ear while leading me to the entrance of the airport.

"How can it be home when I've never even been there before?" I smile at my mate.

"Because it is where we'll be living for the next years and it's where our family is."

"It is a silly name though." I still say.

"Forks is a nice place and perfect for our kind. You will love it there."

I had not really been longing to resume the rhythm of a seemingly human life but I do think it would be nice to live once again with the others under one roof. Two years ago, Carlisle had informed us that it was time to move on. The inhabitants of Dodge Cove would soon become suspicious of the fact that everyone still looked the same. Everyone had graduated and was supposedly in college now even though the only one who actually attended a class occasionally was Edward. We took the move as a new opportunity to explore the world for a while. Alice and Jasper took off to Alaska, to visit the Denali clan for a while. I had not yet met our 'cousins' but I still had a sea of time to do that. Instead, me and Emmett opted to go to Asia, a continent both he and I had not visited before. Edward had tagged along for a short period of time but soon found it hard to put up with our company and decided to go join Esme and Carlisle in Spain instead where Rose was staying as well.

It had been two years since me and Emmett saw the other members of our coven. We had kept in touch of course. I believe I am starting to finally see the benefits of this modern communication. I will put up with the mobile phones but I still refuse to stare at the moving pictures on a television screen like a brainless animal.

"Are you nervous?" He smiles at me.

"No." I scoff, but to myself I'll admit I'm feeling rather uncomfortable.

This is the first time I'll be on an airplane. All the previous transport has been done by foot or car actually. We tried a train once but then a boy on the train had a bloody running noise and Emmett had to push me off the moving vehicle to make sure I wouldn't snap.

People stare at us as we make our way to the desk. It's not just the fact that we are white people in Asia but even more so that we are beautiful white people designed to make humans fall to our feet in adoration. I usually rather enjoy it but today it's annoying me because I'm already so on edge. Emmett knows I'm not exactly in my comfort zone here but he is smart enough not to comment on it.

"Good evening, may I have your passports and boarding passes, please?" The smiling woman behind the desk stretches out her hand to us while trying to casually check out my mate.

As if he would look at her. She is quite beautiful though, for a human. Exotic Asian beauty and all. But ever since we've established our relationship and have actually been able to maintain it, I find myself almost never jealous. I don't even get irritated with all the women and even men staring at my mate.

"Maybe we should take the glasses off." He ponders out loud when people keep on staring.

"Or not." I say.

Yes, it is weird that we wear sunglasses when it's already dark outside but it's not like the eyes are any less strange especially since they're really bright right now that we just fed before coming to the air port.

The woman behind the desk does whatever her job requires her to do and then returns our passports and boarding passes to us.

"Have a good flight, Mr and Mrs Cullen."

Emmett gives me a loop-sided grin when she calls me Mrs Cullen. I do not see why he makes a big deal out of it. I've had the name ever since I decided to join the coven. I guess he likes it that we have the same last name, in a non-sibling way of course.

"Why are you smiling?" I ask him when we walk past security.

"I'm enjoying the moment. These are the final moments people will treat us as a married couple."

"And we get to be sixteen-year old high school students again. The joy." I mutter.

I wasn't looking forward to that part of our lives. I would have to go to school and pretend to be just another normal teenage girl driven by hormones and not a hundred year old vampire driven by a lust for blood. I do not think I'll be very good at it. No, I'd much rather be Laurence and Emmett, roaming the surface of the earth any way we want to. And it just so happens we want to do it together, just like he asked me to.

Emmett proposed to me exactly one year after he brought up the idea of getting married. I had forgotten about it, as much as a vampire can forget about anything. So I must say, it was a bit of a surprise when he got down on one knee.

_I had been outside in the human world, surrounded by delicious people on more than one occasion before. I still tried to avoid such situation as often as I could but I also liked being away from the house every chance I got. With the others going to school and Esme forcing me to play the piano occasionally, things got boring. But tonight, Emmett was taking me into town, to the opera. He paid extra so we could have a secluded area, the balcony on the side. That way he didn't have to worry too much about me going on a rampage. Though if I really lost it, I could still do it. _

"_Did you like it?" He asks me when it's over and people are starting to clear out._

_Emmett however seems to make no effort to steer me out of the room. _

"_Aren't we leaving?" I frown, standing up, waiting for him to leave with me._

"_In a moment." He glances down at the rest of the tribune._

"_What are you waiting for?"_

_He doesn't answer my question until the last person has left and we are truly alone now. Suddenly Emmett leaps over the edge of the balcony and lands swiftly on the podium._

"_What are you doing?" I lean over to see what his intention is. "It's not because people can't see us that they think it's okay for you to be there."_

"_I have a question for you." He puffs out his chest for a reason unknown to me. _

"_And you couldn't ask me that from here?" I frown down at him._

_He just grins and gets down on one knee._

"_What are you doing!?" I hiss. _

"_I thought it was pretty obvious." He smiles and then pulls out a ring._

_A gorgeous ring that no normal human could ever afford. It was beautiful and he knew it. I felt betrayed by myself for immediately loving the engagement ring he bought me even though I had told him I didn't want one. _

"_Laurence, you're my mate and we both know we'll never love another. You are mine and I am yours. This ring just symbolises it. But I would very much like to call you my wife."_

_I jump off the balcony as well and stand in front of him with a scowl on my face. I don't like this. _

"_Will you marry me, Laurence?"_

"_No."_

_His smile doesn't waver at all. I'm sure he expected this response, especially after I made it very clear how ridiculous I found the idea of two vampires getting married. _

"_One day you'll say yes." He stands up again and puts the ring away._

"_What is that supposed to mean?" I scowl. _

"_It means that I will keep proposing to you until you'll finally agree to marry me." He smiles._

"_You're going to annoy me into marrying you?" _

_Pretty sure that's not usually the way._

"_Yes," He takes my hand and steers me out of the room. "That's the only way I'll get my way."_

He was right about that. He knew I would continue to refuse him so the only thing left to do was bugging me so much that I'll eventually say yes just so we'll be done with all the marriage proposals. And there were a lot.

I said no when he proposed to me in the Botanic Gardens at midnight, bathing in lights. I said no when he asked me to marry him once again at his graduation party, Jasper's graduation party and Edward's as well. I once again refused at the cruise, the romantic dinner, the trip to England, the weekend in Paris he had planned for us and even during the concert I asked him to come to. There were still more but after a while they all just kind of blended in together.

The twenty third one was different though. I won't be forgetting that one soon.

_Carlisle had just announced to us that it was time to move away. He and Esme would look for a new place to live while we could all just do whatever it was we wanted. I was excited with the prospect of doing my own thing for once, with Emmett of course. I was already going through my closet, deciding which things absolutely had to come with me. Everything else would be packed up in boxes and I would only reunite with it years later. It was a very important decision._

_It's very hard to catch a vampire off guard so when Emmett suddenly wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, I didn't flinch or even react to it at all. I simply continued what I was doing, though a little constricted in my movements due to his tight grip on me._

"_Come with me for a second." He whispered in my ear. _

"_I'm busy."_

_But it's not as if it was something of great importance and urgency so when Emmett took the dress out of my hands and steered me out of the room, I followed him. _

"_What is so important?" I walked behind him into the clearing where I had first told Emmett he was my mate and I wished to be with him._

"_Sit there." He pointed to one of the bigger rocks._

_He had made me curious to find out what he was up to so I obliged. Once I sat down on the rock, I cocked my eyebrow at him, willing him to tell me what this was about. I feel stupid to admit it because it should not have caught me by surprise when he got down on one knee and pulled out the by now familiar ring. I should have known that's what this was about._

"_No." I said._

"_You're not even going to let me ask the question?"_

"_You've asked it more than enough times by now. The answer is still the same. Though I have to say you clearly haven't put as much effort in this one like in all the previous ones."_

"_It's not about how grand a scenery I ask the question in. It's about the importance of your answer." He shrugged._

"_Aren't you tired of it yet?" I sighed. _

"_Of course I am. Do you think it's funny to have been rejected by you for over twenty times?"_

"_Then stop asking."_

"_No." He said resolutely." Because the twenty fourth time might be the one where you say yes."_

"_It might also be not."_

"_The twenty fifth then." He shrugs. _

"_What if I don't even say yes at the hundredth time?" I cocked an eyebrow at him._

"_That's the benefit of being immortal. I've got an eternity to keep asking you."_

_An eternity? He was going to spend his entire existence asking me to marry him and getting rejected? I don't think that's the best way to enjoy immortality. _

"_Why is it so important to you anyway?" I wondered out loud._

"_Because I love you and I want to do everything with you, including walking down the aisle. And I've always wanted to say to someone 'that gorgeous creature is my wife'."_

_That's a silly reason but at least he had the reason. I keep telling him no, not because I don't want to marry him but because I don't see a reason why I should have to. It gives no extra value to our relationship but maybe in Emmett's eyes it did. _

"_Fine;" I sigh. "I will marry you."_

"_What?" He looks at me with big eyes._

"_If you so desperately want to get married, then let's get married." I say._

"_But you just said…"_

"_I know what I said but I also know what you just told me and I heard you."_

"_So… we're getting married?"_

"_Apparently."_

"_We're getting married!" A ridiculously wide grin appears on his face._

"_You don't have to keep saying it." I sigh._

_But I don't think he heard me. By the look on his face I'd say he's already too far gone, fantasising about our wedding day. Eventually he snaps out of it and stares at me with big, adoring eyes. He gives me a blinding smile before gathering me up into his arms._

"_You're going to be my wife!" He laughs._

_I can't help but smile at his antics. It's so easy to make him happy. _

"That's my wife." Emmett points to me when showing his boarding pass to the stewardess.

"You don't have to keep saying that to everyone." I roll my eyes at him while boarding the plane to New York where we will have to take another one to Seattle.

"When we land in the United States again I can't tell people anymore that we're married. I'm just trying to get it out of my system."

I don't like the flight. It is a several hours during torture with all those people so close to me, completely oblivious to what their heartbeat is doing to me. Emmett keeps a tight grip on my hand the entire time and tries to get me to calm down. People seem to think he's some kind of over possessive husband but at least he makes sure all the passengers leave the plane unharmed when we land in New York.

"You okay?" He whispers to me when we're finally out of there.

"Not really." I breathe out.

"Well, our next flight isn't for another two hours. That should give you enough time to get a grip on yourself again."

"No!" I turn to him and grab his arm. "I am not getting back on a plane."

"Don't worry. If you were able to make it through a nineteen hour flight, you'll manage for six more hours."

"No, I won't. If we get back on a plane I'll feed of someone."

My control wasn't that strong and the flight I had just endures had only made it thinner. I couldn't go through another six hours without hurting anyone.

"Let's just run to Seattle." I try to convince him.

"You want to run all the way to the other side of the country?" He frowns.

"Or take a car." I shrug.

"Do you know how long it would take for us to drive all the way to Forks?"

"A long time probably but isn't that better than having me murder all the passengers on our flight?"

I'm fairly certain that I know what his answer is.

"Fine, let's take a cab to the closest forest and run through there. You know we can't be seen." He walks me to the direction of the airport's exit.

"Thank you." I kiss his cheek.

During the cab ride Emmett calls Carlisle to let him know we'll be later because I couldn't get back on the plane. Once again it is proven that this coven does not keep secrets, not even when they involve my embarrassing lack of control.

"Pull over here." Emmett says several hours later.

The cab driver gives him a confused look.

"But, sir, there is nothing here other than the forest."

"Please pull over."

Even though the man behind the wheel is confused about Emmett's request, he still pulls over and turns off the engine when he's asked to.

"That will be all. You can go now." Emmett hands him more than enough money for the effort.

"You want me to leave you here, in the middle of nowhere?"

"Yes."

The man gives me a concerned look. Maybe he thinks Emmett will rape and kill me in this forest. As if he could!

"It's quite alright." I try to convince the man that no harm will come to me. He should be more worried about himself.

He eventually nods and takes off. Finally, it's just the both of us and we can start heading home.

"Would you like to go for a hunt?" He asks me.

"Yes, I am starving."

We head out deeper into the forest to look for a meal. It wouldn't be a very good idea to rejoin the rest of our coven on an empty stomach.


End file.
